


MarkiSPYer: A Markiplier Spy Story (Book One)

by Migz



Category: PewDiePie - Fandom, Septiplier - Fandom, amyplier - Fandom, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: A Date With Markiplier, Damien - Freeform, Darkiplier Mark Fischbach, Gen, Kingsman Training, Markiplier - Freeform, Movie: Casino Royale (2006), Post-Who Killed Markiplier?, Spy - Freeform, Spy Mark Fischbach, Spy Story, Who Killed Markiplier?, wilford warfstache - Freeform, william j barnum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 12:26:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 63,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15751641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Migz/pseuds/Migz
Summary: Mark Fischbach was an ordinary, goofy, and lovable YouTuber until a package appeared at his doorstep. Little did he know that it would set his entire life on a different course: a path of espionage. A journey that would pit him against his old childhood friend Damien, now known as Darkiplier by many, who has been planning on eradicating the human race.A spy comedy starring Markiplier and Friends.WRITTEN BY A FAN FOR THE FANS.





	1. An Honorary Award

**Author's Note:**

> It's about a person who goes by the name Markiplier who is said to induce ovary explosions to his fangirls all over the globe just by winking at them, which makes him perfect for this James Bond-esque/Kingsman story. Includes references to his videos, especially the "Who Killed Markiplier?" arc that in some ways inspired the development of the characters in this story.

"And I will see you in the next video... buh-bye!" A man said while waving goodbye into his camera, flashing his signature smirk before ending the recording session. 

It was the end of yet another long but very productive day, he had been standing there for hours playing Subnautica. He sat down on a nearby office chair and sighed, running his hand through his thick black hair.

   He glanced at his monitor that still had the game on the pause menu then looked around his room, seeing black foam padding on the walls everywhere obviously to soundproof the room from the noise of the outside world. 

   He stretched his arms up in the air, letting out somewhat a mix of a yawn and a failed battle cry, his mouth agape as he breathed out the air.

   The man switched off his computer and stepped out of his recording room, lazily rubbing his belly making his way downstairs.

When he reached the first floor, a large golden retriever leapt on his leg, her tail wagging playfully. The dog was very much glad to see him after all those hours of staying in his recording room. 

   "Hey, Chica! How are ya?" The man said in a voice more high pitched than his normal tone, patting his pet dog's head. "C'mon, we'll get you something to eat." 

   Chica barked in anticipation.

   Then, his belly growled as well.

   "Hmm... I'll get something for myself too." He rubbed his belly.

   The man arrived in the kitchen, with Chica following him. In there was a woman with blonde hair wearing her pink silky night gown, standing by the stove stirring what looked like soup in the cauldron.

   He snuck up on her and quickly wrapped his arms around her waist, making her jump and drop the spoon back onto the cauldron.

"This is a stickup, Amy! Give me all the food!" He threatened.

"Jesus Christ, Mark! Don't scare me like that!" Amy slapped his arm. 

"Sorry!" Mark loosened his grip, "But seriously, what's cookin'? That smells nice."

   "Your laundry." She lifted up the wooden spoon and showed Mark a steaming pair of black boxers, "You got paint all over them again."

   "Ohh," The man shrunk with embarrassment, "Sorry. We did that for a video."

   "How was your recording session?" 

   "Pretty cool, I had to draw out this fake gun to over exaggerate the possible outcry of the community about me reverting back to my normal hair." Mark took out a toy revolver and placed it on the counter, "What about you? How's your day?" 

   "Oh, just ran to the mall to buy gifts for my family." She shrugged.

   "You sure you don't want me to come with you to New York? I could just delay the videos for a few more days." He shrugged, brushing his hair that still smelled like hair dye.

   "I'll be fine, Markimoo. You don't need to worry about me." Amy chuckled, "You still gotta plan your special Valentine's day video with Tyler and Ethan, and Kathryn needs help in editing the other videos."

   Mark bent over and lifted up Chica making her stand on her hind legs, "But Chica will miss Amy." He said in a childish tone, waving the dog's paw at her. 

   "And Amy will miss Chica." She pinched the golden retriever's floppy cheek. "Here, you should probably take over from here." Amy said, giving him the spoon, "I gotta finish packing my stuff, because, y'know, girls have a lot of things to pack for the trip."

   "What time's your flight tomorrow?" He asked, watching his girlfriend make her way up the stairs.

   "Eight thirty in the morning." Amy answered. 

   "I'm gonna have to set my alarm a bit earlier then." Mark said to himself, sighing, knowing that he wasn't a morning person. 

   It was nighttime, almost ten in the evening, Mark had been recording for more than twelve hours straight. This was his usual routine, he would usually wake up almost twelve in the afternoon, take a quick bath then head on over to his recording studio with a plate of sandwiches or cereals in tow, serving as his brunch for the day. 

   It has always been the same for Markimoo since four years ago, the time he made content creating a full time job. And seeing that he had spawned one of the nicest fanbases on the internet, it further gave him the motivation to keep doing these type of stuff. 

  He turned off the stove and dug into the fridge after hearing his tummy make ungodly noises. He finally settled for a box of Froot Loops, pouring the flakes into a bowl and eating them without milk. 

   He sat by the counter and picked the first froot loop from the bowl. He raised it up as if he was examining a gem between his fingers, "Just by looking at you makes me hungry."

   But then Chica snatched the cereal from his fingers, making Mark squeal upon feeling his dog's slobbery mouth close around his fingers in that instant.

   "OW! CHICA! I was gonna eat that!" He glowered at his pet only to see her sitting there with her empty personalized dog bowl.

   Mark almost forgot to feed her.

   "Crap, sorry about that, buddy." He stood up and went to the overhead cabinet, taking out a heavy sack of dog food.

   Chica became restless upon seeing her master holding the sack. 

   "Silly old me for forgetting to feed my favorite dog in the world." He said while he poured out the dog food onto the retriever's bowl, "Here you go." 

   The dog wasted no time and stuck her muzzle into the bowl, chomping loudly on the treat, her furry tail wagging in the air. 

   Mark returned to his seat, mouth watering, wanting to finally enjoy his own bowl of cereals.

   "Mark?" Amy's voice came from upstairs.

   "Yeah?" He responded, slightly frustrated that everytime he tried to eat there'd always be a distraction.

   "I forgot to tell you, something came in the mail earlier today, it's from YouTube addressed to you. It's on the couch." 

   "Really? I wasn't expecting mail." Mark raised an eyebrow, bringing the bowl with him as he made his way to the living room. 

   As Amy said, there was a small brown box sitting on the couch still secured with packaging tape, mailing stickers and stamps on the lid, and a giant YouTube logo on the sides. 

   Mark picked up the package and sat on the couch, bringing his ear next to it and giving it a little shake, curious at what it was. There was rustling inside when he shook it, most likely something small but fragile as the box felt light.  

   He took a fistful of cereals and shoved it in his mouth before tearing through the tape with a bread knife. He flipped the lid open, revealing a lot foam peanuts. He dug through it and felt edges of another box inside, feeling styrofoam on the edges of it. Taking it out he saw that it was a moderately heavy box wrapped in newspaper. 

   Upon ripping through the wrappings, he saw two big blue cartoon eyes looking back at him, a sight that made him jump both in excitement and surprise. Unable to contain himself, he ripped through the packaging with deliberate force until he was finally able to determine what it was. 

    A Tiny Box Tim figure made of die-cast metal.

   "Ho...ly... shit." He mumbled in awe, "Holy shit, it's so cute!" Mark had a wide grin on his face, jaw hanging in amazement. 

   "What is it?" Amy said, having gotten back down.

   "Look at this, babe! It's a Tiny Box Tim figure! It's fucking cute!" Mark raised it up to show his girlfriend. 

   "Oh my gosh, that's adorable!" She exclaimed, taking the figure from Mark and examining it.

   "I wonder why YouTube sent it." Mark dug back into the box and found a brown envelope. 

   He unfolded the paper and read through it:

Dear Markiplier, 

   "The most truly generous people are those who give silently without hope of praise or reward."

   Please accept this special award from us as a token of appreciation for being one of the most charitable and the kindest YouTuber the internet has to offer, you deserve everything in the world and this gift is one of them. 

Sincerely,  
YouTube 

   Reading it made his heart melt with pure joy. 

   "Aww," He was on the verge of tears, "That's pretty nice of them to give me this." He said, folding back the note and putting it back inside the envelope. 

   "You deserve it, Markimoo." Amy said, planting a kiss on his forehead. 

   "Not to brag, but I'm bringing this thing with me when I take you to the airport tomorrow." He said in a childish manner, "Maybe I'll brag about it to Tyler." 

   "Typical Mark, always the type of person who marvels at the little things." She shook her head, chortling. 

   "Now how about we get some sleep?" The YouTuber suggested, yawning loudly while he went back to their kitchen to clean his plate. "I'm pretty much ready to hit the hay." 

   "Alrighty, I'll just finish packing up." Amy ran back up. 

   Soon enough, the couple were lying on their bed getting ready to call it a night, Amy having her arm around Mark's torso while she slept as Mark gazed at the little Tiny Box Tim figure on his bedside table, very much amazed by it.

   He was doing that for a few good minutes before switching his attention to the starry sky out the window, the view of outer space somehow giving him comfort as he finally drifted off to sleep.


	2. Tiny Box Tim

Mark pulled over in a parking space, Amy sitting on the passenger seat and Chica in the backseat behaving as the timid dog she always was.

They saw other people outside, pushing carts filled with their personal luggages towards a large sliding glass door. There were also people coming outside, meeting friends and family waiting for them outside greeting them with a kiss and a hug. There were voices on the intercom, announcing ETAs of both international and domestic flights.

"Well, here we are." Mark turned off the car and glanced at his watch, "With still an hour to spare."

"Thanks, Mark." Amy said.

He turned to face his girlfriend, looking into her eyes, "You sure you'll be fine on your own?"

Amy giggled, "I'll be fine, Markimoo, don't go stressing yourself over me. I'm a big girl."

"You do tend to forget a lot of things." He replied with a smirk.

"Don't worry, I've got all the stuff I need right in my bag." She brushed it off. 

He stepped outside his car, hearing the sounds of plane engines in the distance as he made his way to the back of his car. He opened the hatchback, pulling out a bright purple luggage. Amy followed him, but not before letting Chica get out of the car first.

Mark brought Amy's bag for her, with his other hand on his girlfriend's while he escorted her to the main terminal gates. Chica was trailing closely behind the couple, her fluffy tail wagging, joyfully walking on the road.

The two stopped in front of the entrance,

"Here. Take this with you." Mark handed over his jacket to her, "I'm pretty sure it'll be cold as heck in the Big Apple." 

Amy smiled and took the sweater from him, "Aww, how thoughtful of you, Mark." She sniffed it, "It even smells like you."

The man's cheek heated up, he could've sworn he was blushing.

"It smells like your sweat." She added.

All that fuzziness in him went away in a snap, "Gee, thanks, Amy."

"I'm just kidding, babe!" She reached her arm up to wrap around Mark's neck and pull him closer.

He did not hesitate to lean in and press his lips on her.

It had always been the best feeling ever, to get a whiff of his girl's perfume and to feel her soft lips pressed on his. That would make his heart skip and give him shivers.

Both of them were pretty much enjoying the moment, until there was a loud beep from the speaker just above them.

"American Airlines flight 343 bound for New York now boarding." The female announcer said.

Amy broke the kiss, gasping, her face red, "Oh, that's my flight!" She hung her bag over her shoulder.

"Yeah, right." Mark cleared his throat, looking at his feet attempting to conceal his flushed face, "You got all the things you need?"

"Yeah, I have my passport, my clothes, my laptop and my phone..." she grinned, "...a kiss from Mark."

"You're still missing one thing, though."

"What's that?"

Mark crouched down and picked up Chica in one scoop, bringing her up between them, "A goodbye hug from Chica-poo."

"Crap, I almost forgot about that!" She jumped, giving the retriever a tight hug, "Bye, Chica, see you in two weeks."

"Bye, babe." The couple kissed again.

Mark and his dog watched Amy walk to the entrance, Mark having a wide smile on his face, "Take care of yourself, Amy!"

The girl spun in her spot and cracked a smile, "I will. I'll text you as soon as I get there."

"Okay... bye." He waved, "Love you!"

"Bye, love you too."

Mark still had his eyes on his girl, seeing her merge with the crowd of other passengers heading towards their respective flights.

He let out a sigh and craned his neck at Chica, "Well, I guess we have the house all to ourselves for two weeks. Let's go home, buddy-boo."

Chica turned around, as if she fully understood what Mark told her, heading back to their parked car. He let in his dog in the backseat before getting in the car himself, lazily slumping on the driver's seat and starting the engine.

He placed his hands on the steering wheel and sighed loudly, thinking of the tasks he must do for the meantime. Him and and his friends have already planned the next set of content he couldn't wait to make, most importantly the Valentine's Day interactive video. It exhilarated him, knowing that the fandom would definitely enjoy it. 

Just as he was about to pull out of the parking space, he caught sight of Chica in his rear view mirror sniffing the Tiny Box Tim award beside her, she even growled at it. Turned out he had actually brought it with them.

Mark pulled the handbrake back up, "What's the matter, girl?"

The dog never turned away from the figure, she never lifted her nose from it.

Intrigued by this, Mark took the box and examined it, TBT's eyes shimmering against the sunlight. He turned the figure around, going over the entire thing like a scanner. But he found nothing there. He turned the box to face him again.

"Hmm, I wonder why Chica's frisky around you." He looked into Tiny Box Tim's blue eyes.

He noticed that the eyes were made of blue tinted glass that still had bits of styrofoam on them.

"Nice detail on that." Mark praised, "This must've cost more than I think it did." He rubbed the irises with his thumbs.

Suddenly there was a loud hiss from the box followed by the top of its head springing open.

Mark flinched, cocking his head back.

"What the fuck?" He gasped, slowly lifting the hatch to get a view of what was inside.

He found nothing, it was just an empty box. It appeared to just be a container.

Mark pushed the lid back, and it made a click. To his surprise, there were no lines or grooves for the hatch to be noticeable.

He placed his thumb on one of the iris and pressed down but felt no button on it, and the box did not open.

This time, Mark put both of his thumbs on both eyes without pressing down, just a soft touch.

The hatch opened again.

"Holy shit." He shook his head, looking more confused than before, "This is some James Bond spy shit."

He was still investigating it, turning it in his hands for more than thrice.

"Who knew YouTube is this supportive of their content creators?" He scoffed, "this is high tech as fuck." Mark took out his phone and dialed for Tyler.

After a few rings, "Hello!" Tyler's deep voice greeted from the other end of the line.

"Hey Tyler, listen, I-"

"This is Scheid, Tyler Scheid, and you've reached my answering machine. I'm sorry if I couldn't get back to your calls right now, I might be busy sleeping or working. Please leave a message."

Mark sighed, rolling his eyes, "Stupid voicemail..." he grumbled, "Tyler, if you can reply as soon as possible to this, I wanna let you know that YouTube sent me an oddly amazing, yet mysterious award," His eyes never left the figure in his hand, "I think you should take a look at this."

He hung up then called Ethan.

"What is up, my cranky crew!" Ethan's high pitched voice greeted, "You've reached Ethan, the blue boy wonder. Please leave a message."

"Goddammit." He groaned, "Why wouldn't any of them fucking answer?!"

They weren't responding to his calls for two days, Mark even thought if they were avoiding him on purpose. Perhaps they might be busy doing their own content, Ethan could be, but Tyler... dude was always at Mark's house to the point that he considered it as his secondary home.

Mark brushed it off and tossed his phone on the passenger's seat with the box before driving out of the parking lot, setting his course home.

As he drove, he still couldn't get his mind off the little TBT figure that came last night in the mail. He was actually taking glances at the inanimate object while he swerved past traffic, thinking that it might do something else extraordinary, maybe do a flip or something.

__________

The vehicle drove up the driveway in front of Mark's home, and as soon as he had stopped the car, Chica started barking. The dog was restless in her seat, frantically freaking out, clawing on the glass window.

"You have to go now, huh?" Mark turned to face his pet who was moving in circles, her loud barking ringing through his ears.

He let the dog out. Chica hastily jumped out of the car and barked louder, charging towards their house's front door, her tail was wagging rapidly.

This alarmed Mark. Chica has never been this restless.

"Stay close, buddy." Mark ran back to his car and brought out a monkey wrench, arming himself with it.

The two cautiously approached the front door, Mark's alertness raised at its peak as he reached for the knob with his free hand, his other tightly gripping the wrench.

Just as he was about to shove the door open, he felt the back of his head being hit by a blunt object.

Mark fell through the door and inside his house, he could hear Chica's muffled yelps, his rugged breathing echoing as he crawled away from his attacker.

Then a pair of hands picked him up by the arms and dragged him to the living room, forcing him to sit on his couch facing a man in a black suit who was standing opposite him.

"What a nice place you got here, Mr. Fischbach." The man turned around.

"Wh-what th-the fuck are you doing in my house?!" He stammered, squinting to get his blurred vision fixed. "Who are you people?!"

He turned around to face Mark, he had black shades, blonde slicked back hair, and a toothy grin. 

"Our boss told us you have it."


	3. The MacGuffin

Mark stared up at the man who was standing a few feet away from him. He was holding a framed picture of Mark and Amy, looking at it with much amusement.

The YouTuber looked around, spotting his dog Chica held back by another guy. The man was carrying her, the dog's size was no match to the henchman's overly muscular built. Chica had her muzzle tied shut with a belt and all she could do was whimper.

All of a sudden, Mark sprung up from his seat, his intent on escaping while the man's back was turned. However, he was pulled back to sit by two pairs of hands. He struggled.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The man warned.

Mark felt cold metal press on his neck followed by four pointed objects also aimed at his neck. He gulped, feeling one of what he knew to be a knife poised over his adam's apple.

He stayed silent for a good five minutes.

"What's the matter, Fischbach? Cat got your tongue?" He said.

Mark gurgled, struggling to speak, "H-How c-could I-I s-speak pro-properly if y-your people h-had a h-buttload of k-knives pointed at my throat?"

"What? What do you mea-?" he paused, "Hey guys, that's overkill, easy on the brutality." He noticed the whole lot of knives and guns.

The other men eventually lowered their weapons leaving only a single gun pressed against Mark's temple.

"What do you want from me?!" Mark hissed.

The lead guy turned around, "Our employer told us that you have the MacGuffin."

"MacGuffin?" Mark raised an eyebrow.

"The MacGuffin, a term used in the movies and literature that is an item with little to no backstory and is a plot device that drives both the protagonist and antagonist to pursue it. Think of it as the Ark of the Covenant in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Infinity Stones in the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the Treasures in the Smosh Expedition Trilogy written by the same writer who wrote this story."

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Whatever! All I need is the MacGuffin!"

"Stop it! You're making me hungry for a Sausage McMuffin!" Mark yelled, feeling his stomach growl, "What McMuffin er... MacGuffin? And who the fuck is your employer?!"

"I'm pretty sure you know him." The henchman smirked.

"I'm sick of the pronoun game, just fucking spit it out!"

The man slapped Mark across the face.

"Darkiplier."

Mark's eyes grew wide. He made a soft inaudible gasp.

"Know him? Because he knows everything about you. He knows that you have the ruby, and he needs it for his little contraption."

"What the hell are you talking about?! What ruby?!" he shook his head, "I dunno where the hell it is!"

"Fine." The henchman returned to the table and picked up Mark and Amy's photo, "She's pretty, Fischbach." He chortled, "Maybe she knows what we're looking for and where it is."

"Leave her out of this!" Mark exclaimed, "If you lay a finger on her, I swear to God..."

"You'll what?" He replied, a sinister grin on his face, "You'll kill me? And how are you gonna do that? All you know is play games and scream at cameras."

"You'll find out I have a lot of surprises."

One of the goons' hand tightened around Mark's neck, forcing the air out of his throat.

Then Chica whimpered.

"Chica..." Mark wheezed, "Let her go. Take me, but leave Chica and Amy alone."

"You heard the man, let's take him to the boss."

Chuckles came from the surrounding goons.

"As you wish, Markimoo."

Another member of the men in suits appeared, having a satchel around his neck as he reached inside it, later pulling out a thick syringe that had orange liquid in it.

"What is that?" Mark panicked, his heartbeat going faster than normal.

The man flicked the container, making the fluid inside jiggle, "Oh, just something to calm your nerves... maybe put you to sleep... or into a permanent coma."

"What?!" He gasped.

"Now show me that neck of yours. But first we need to move your gigantic head to the side."

Mark's head was forced to be tilted to one side, exposing his neck out in the open, he could feel his jugular vein throbbing.

"PLEASE! NO! WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!" His thrashing was shown to be futile, as two more men held him still. Mark screamed at the top of his lungs unable to break free, just waiting for the moment to come. "LET ME GO!"

"This will only hurt a bit, man up!"

"PLEASE, NO!" Mark violently shook his head, as if it was gonna avert the inevitable.

"Hey, Mark, you didn't tell me you have a new game-?" A tall, curly-haired man appeared on the first landing of the stairs, stopping in his tracks when he caught sight of the men gathered in the living room. His eyes widened in shock.

Mark recognized him, "Tyler?"

"Huh?" The leader stood upright, looking at him.

"Oh... I'm sorry, am I interrupting anything?" Tyler asked.

"T-Tyler..." Mark grunted, trying to lift up his arm to be seen through the piles of men surrounding him, "...what a-are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to swing by, that's all." his friend shrugged.

"Help me, please." He pled, "He-" his mouth was stuffed with his shirt.

"This is none of your business, boy. All we wanted was to have a little chat with Markiplier here." The leader said, "now, if you'll be a kind sir, I'll let my men will lead you to the door."

"Mmphh! Mrrphh!" Mark screamed.

"Are you sure you're gonna be fine, Mark?" Tyler asked.

His friend shook his head, but Tyler did not see him.

"He'll be okay, I promise." The lead goon assured. Two men stood in front of Tyler and tightly grabbed his arms.

"Ow!" He shook off their grasp "just let me grab my umbrella and I'll be out of your hair." Tyler snarled.

"Don't go!" Mark yelled under his muffler.

Tyler went back to the bottom of the stairs where a black and blue umbrella was hanging on the handle, exactly where he left it.

He scoffed, "This was my favorite umbrella." He said giddily, looking up at the two guys escorting him, "This has gotten me through the rain countless times, other than that, it's also a pretty solid baton."

Tyler suddenly swung the umbrella at the men, catching them off guard and hitting them in the head. He then kicked them down and charged at the others.

"HE'S ONE OF THEM!" The leader bellowed, "KILL HIM!"

The men aimed their guns at him. But before they could even unload a bullet, Tyler launched himself into the air and landed on the guy with the syringe, knocking him off of Mark.

Next he went for the man holding Chica, throwing a card-like object made of metal at him and lodging it into his arms. This caused him to drop the dog.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING, TYLER?! THIS IS SOME KINGSMAN BULLSHIT!" Mark stood up and ducked when a henchman swung at him.

"I'll explain later, right now we just gotta get outta here alive!" Tyler yelled, cutting off Chica's muzzle before taking on three guys.

Mark ran to the kitchen, with the leader of the men running after him.

"Where are you going, Mark?" He taunted, cornering him in the kitchen.

"Why do you care where I'm doing?" Mark leapt over the counter dodging the man's grasp. Then he noticed the gun he left there last night, he quickly snatched the pistol from the counter and aimed at the man. "Stop right there!"

The leader guffawed, seeing the gun, "You think you can fool me with that fake gun? How stupid do you think I am?"

"It may be fake," Mark turned the gun in his finger and grasped the barrel, "but it's fucking heavy!" He used the handle of the gun and smacked the man's fingers that were on the counter.

He screamed, but was immediately silenced after being hit across the face with the gun. He fell to the floor disoriented.

Even before Mark could pause and take a deep breath, another goon grabbed him, pinning him against the wall and slapping his hand that was holding the pistol.

The YouTuber whimpered when the man had his elbow pressing on his neck.

The man grinned and lifted up the syringe before bringing it down at Mark. However, Mark was able to stop it, with the tip of the needle hovering inches from his abs.

He trembled, struggling to both counter the incoming tranquilizer and to maintain his grasp on the gun. Cold sweat dripped down his face, his muscles twitching as he felt his strength ebbing away. He could not hold it much longer, but he had to try.

Mark shrieked, breathing in his belly to avoid the approaching syringe.

"Don't be so hardheaded, Mark." The man growled, who had his face near Mark in the most awkward distance.

Mark opened his eyes, and a twinkle could be seen in them, "That's what I'm good at..."

He headbutted the goon, hitting his forehead against the bridge of the man's nose, causing him to release him and clutch his bleeding nostrils. He collapsed to his knees wailing, disoriented.

"...having a hard head." Mark rubbed his forehead, feeling mild pain around the spot.

However the man refused to back down, he grabbed Mark's shirt and tried pulling him down to induce the tranquilizer.

But he was abruptly stopped by Chica who gnawed on his hand holding the needle.

"GOOD GIRL!" Mark cheered.

"FUCK! ARGH!" He grunted, attempting to pry the dog's muzzle off of his hand where blood started to drip from the wounds.

Mark delivered the final blow with a roundhouse kick to the kneeling man's face.

Chica then released the arm, then looked up at her master, her tail playfully wagging.

"Good girl." Mark pat the dog's head.

"MARK!" Tyler yelled.

He craned his neck at his friend who was in the living room in a tussle of five against one. Mark ran back to the kitchen and equipped himself with two frying pans.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Mark ran at the men and began swatting away.

Every hit made a loud clang, not only denting his weapon but also disarming the men. He was hitting their arms, legs, head, and some were fortunate enough to get a crotch shot.

Tyler covered his friend, still having the umbrella in hand and using it as a baseball bat. Chica was also helping by biting at their ankles.

"What-" Mark spoke, every word had a subsequent hit at the enemies, "-do-they-want-from-me?!"

"They want the ruby!" Tyler replied.

"What does it have to do with me?!" Mark complained.

"I told you I'll explain later!"

"Just tell me n-OW!" He was interrupted when someone stabbed his butt.

Tyler then retaliated by kicking the goon in the face.

"They won't comply, men." The leader announced, "just kill them all."

Tyler and Mark stopped, seeing the remaining henchmen fleeing the scene, leaving only the leader with them.

"Get yourself and Chica behind me, Mark." Tyler ordered, to which the two complied.

The leader pulled out a large pill-shaped object and pressed the side, and it made loud beeping noises.

"Here, have a blast with this!" He mocked, hurling the pill.

"FUCK!" Tyler opened his umbrella.

The next thing Mark knew was all three of them were blasted through the glass door right after the pill had collided with the umbrella. He could not hear anything but the sound of high-pitched ringing.

He felt water. They fell into his pool.

Mark swam up and gasped for air, parting his thick hair to the side to see that made his jaw drop in horror.

His house was up in flames, the living room having the most damage right after the detonation of the pill-shaped bomb.

"Mark!" Tyler called out, who has already gotten out of the pool with Chica but was still soaking wet.

"My house, Tyler! WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"I'm sorry, man!" He pulled him up.

"I mean, what the fuck is going on?!" Mark whined, "All that bullshit got my house destroyed!"

Mark suddenly felt lightheaded, numbness taking over his body as he looked at his butt where the goon stabbed him. He gasped when he saw the syringe lodged into his butt cheek, all of its contents injected into him.

He rolled his eyes as he lost his balance, "Oh for the love of-"


	4. Y.A.S.S.

Mark lifted his eyelids very slightly, letting a small amount of light in. His vision was hazy, but he could definitely feel that there were people looking over him even though he hasn't seen them fully.

He felt himself lying on a soft leather couch, he could feel his skin sticking to the leather upholstery. He groaned, reaching for his head that suddenly ached.

"Mark?" A familiar voice asked softly, coming from his left, it was Tyler's, "Buddy?"

He rolled his head to the left, still having just a fraction of his eyes open. Through his fuzzy vision, he could see the outline of a curly haired man hovering over him.

"He's awake." He saw Tyler looking over his shoulder, calling someone who wasn't within Mark's field of view.

"Ch-Chica... where's Chica?" Mark mumbled, finally fluttering his eyes open but then wincing at the bright light that came from the ceiling.

Mark looked around, realizing that he was inside an unfamiliar room. It was a large room with white ceiling and dark grey painted walls, filled with framed pictures of men in formal attire and awards.

He sat up, still looking at the surroundings, noticing an office table made of mahogany in front of him complete with a large, extra comfy office chair.

"She's fine, man. She's over there, eating." Tyler assured, pointing Mark to Chica who was on the opposite side of the room, enjoying a meal made for her.

"Wh-where am I?" He looked around, "And what the hell just happened?"

"You passed out after being shot in the butt with a tranquilizer." His friend replied.

"What is this place?" He got to his feet still finding his balance, letting Tyler assist him.

"My office." A man replied.

Mark turned around and saw a man standing in front of large glass windows, overlooking the other skyscrapers of Los Angeles. He had his hands behind his back and standing confidently wearing his grey suit and tie, hair pale blonde fixed into a clean cut hairstyle.

The man had a very much distinct voice, that almost anyone could immediately guess who he was. Mark himself recognized him without any doubts.

"Felix?" Mark cleared his throat, "Is that you?"

The man turned around, it was Felix Kjellberg indeed, sporting his thick brown beard.

"Markiplier." He greeted him with a smile, like he would always greet his friends.

"Pewdiepie." Mark replied, "What's going on?"

Felix's smile disappeared, replaced with a look of seriousness and concern, "I'm sorry for the sudden turn of events." He walked to the desk, "Please, have a seat." He gestured to the couch.

Mark sat back down on the couch he had just woken up from.

"Would you like some vodka martini?" Felix asked, "Shaken, not stirred?"

"No thanks," Mark shook his head, "The last time I had liquor had me being rushed to the ER. I think I'll just have some water."

"Very well," His friend sat down on his large chair, sinking a little bit after the seat had deflated to compromise his weight. Felix pressed a button on his desk that had a built in radio, "Would you mind getting our guest some water?"

"Right away, sir." A woman replied.

"What's the current status, Scheid?" Felix briefly turned away from Mark, focusing on Tyler who was petting Chica.

"The whereabouts of the ruby is still unknown, K."

"Sorry to interrupt, but you still haven't answered my question." Mark was restless in his seat.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot." Felix scoffed, "I'm gonna go slowly, you might find it a little uncomfortable if I just shove it all in."

"Just get on with it, I can take it... mostly. My head still hurts from what happened earlie- shit... my house!" He shot right up, "A bunch of assholes showed up at my house and demanded me to hand over a damn ruby!" Mark groaned, rubbing his temples, "Then Tyler showed up and pulled off some Kingsman stunt."

He started walking in circles.

"Calm down, Mark." Felix remained calm and collected, "First of all, I'm terribly sorry about your house."

"Do you have anything to do with this?" The YouTuber stopped and made a sharp turn, he was now facing Felix, then seeing the Tiny Box Tim figure on his desk, "What about this thing? You know what this is?!" Mark tried containing himself, "I need answers, because I'm seriously stressed out right now!"

"Now, now, calm down, Mark. I know it's gonna be a tough pill to swallow-"

"Just tell me, I can swallow it!" Mark barked, "Wait..." He shook his head upon processing the words he had let out, "No, what I mean-"

Tyler snickered, "That's what she said."

"Okay!" Felix shouted, silencing everyone in the room, even Chica, who stopped eating and glanced at them, "I sent that Tiny Box Tim to you, it was me!"

"Why?" He asked, on the verge of tears from all the confusion, "why did you send it?"

"Didn't you read the letter that came with the box?" Felix stood up.

"I did." Mark's voice gradually returned to normal.

"Did you check the back of the letter?"

"I... no."

"Alright, I'll have to explain it myself." Felix picked up the Tiny Box Tim figure, throwing it up then catching it like a baseball, "This thing is a container, meaning that it's meant to contain something. It has your thumbprint encoded in its glass eyes, so only you can open it."

"Why me? And why am I suddenly pulled into this madness?"

"We were supposed to meet with you right after you had dropped off Amy at the airport earlier today." Felix recalled, "Unfortunately, Dark and his men got there first."

"Dark?"

The man walked around the table, "A few months ago, Darkiplier escaped his imprisonment, and we have been chasing him all over America. Sadly, none of us were able to stop him."

"'Us'?" Mark raised an eyebrow.

"YouTube is no longer just a website on the internet, recently it has established a secret agency that uses the site to track down the most notorious people around the world. Like the MI6 from the James Bond films." Felix explained.

Mark narrowed his eyes.

"They call it: YouTube Agents of the Secret Service, or Y.A.S.S. headed by the one and only Felix Kjellberg." He boasted.

"You're... spies?"

"Yes."

Mark chortled, "Is that the reason why Tyler's been screaming 'yass' as a secret language?"

"No, that's just him." He shook his head.

"How come Tyler is an agent? He's not a YouTuber." Mark glanced at his friend.

"Oh, he's under a different department that's partnered with ours. Dedicated Allies To the Agents of the Secret Service."

"D.A.T.A.S.S.?" Mark held back his laughter.

"Eh, they couldn't find a better name and stuck with that." His friend shrugged, "But anyways, let's get back to the matter, shall we?"

The YouTuber agreed.

Felix switched his attention back to the TBT figure, "Now, this box is designed to contain items-" he then picked up a folder on his desk and handed it to Mark, "-particularly this one."

Mark opened the folder, seeing on the first page a large red stamp of the word "Classified".

"The MacGuffin Ruby." He read.

"Yes, and a very powerful one too, it could light up an entire city for a centuries if one manages to properly harness its power. Last seen in the caves beneath the Hollywood sign. But it was stolen."

"By who?"

"We don't know who took it from its resting place, but rumor has it that a man with an oddly colored mustache and speaks in an extremely lavish manner has it in his possession."

"But what does this have to do with me?"

"Ah yes, good question," He walked around the place, "As you've learned, Darkipkier has escaped, and we have recently found out that he is currently building a doomsday device. And as of right now, he is in search of the ruby because it is the only thing that could power his machine."

He paused to take a deep breath.

"This is crazy, I think I'm dreaming." Mark slapped himself.

"Here, let me help you." Felix swung his hand and it smacked Mark in the cheek.

"OW! FUCK!" Mark screamed in agony, clutching his cheek that throbbed.

"You awake now?"

"Yeah," Mark shook his head, "thanks."

"Right then, let's get back to business." Felix clapped his hands together."

"Out of all the YouTubers out there, why did you choose me?"

"Our agents were no match to Dark's capabilities, he's unpredictable and cunning. I greatly believe that the best way to catch or defeat him is to require the help of someone who thinks like him. That's where you step in."

"Me?"

"Yes, aren't you listening? You and Dark are pretty much the same person. Except that he's the sinister version of yourself."

"W-wait a minute, wait a minute," Mark stood up, "You're asking me to become a spy to go look after the ruby and face off against Darkiplier?"

"Yes, do I have to draw a picture for you?" Felix chuckled, "Because I've prepared a little video presentation."

"Absolutely not." Mark shook his head.

"What?"

"No."


	5. Agent Fischbach

"I beg your pardon?" Felix asked, eyes wide.

"I won't do it." Mark shook his head and turned his back on him.

Tyler was also frozen in shock, never had he expected a reply like that from the Markiplier, the Markiplier who would always say yes to everything, even swimming in a bathtub filled with hot chocolate.

"Why?" Tyler asked, standing up.

"This is all happening too fast, Tyler." Mark sighed, "Last night I was just recording videos, but right now, you two, who suddenly introduced themselves as spies, want me to join them in hunting down a criminal." He said it all in one breath before inhaling, "What the fuck is happening?"

"What is happening is that we need your help in this." Felix replied calmly in contrast to Mark's already panicked state. "I know that you can help us."

Mark guffawed, "You? Having faith in me?" He said in the most sarcastic way as possible, "A lazy, twenty-seven year old man with a mental age of a seven year old schoolgirl. Whose skills only consists of shouting at video games, squealing like a dying whale, and dancing with poles?" 

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"What do you want me to do? Huh?" He shrugged, hands extended outward, "Pole dance on Dark until he dies?"

"Oh God, the image of Mark in a bikini." Tyler scrunched his nose and rubbed his forehead with his fingers.

"That's why you're here, we will train you on combat skills and how to deal with stressful situations, which obviously is your weak spot since you're getting all panicky and stuff right now." The Swedish YouTuber explained.

"I can't be a spy, Felix. You've got the wrong guy. I-I can't do those things you see in the movies. I'm just..." The man ran his hand through his thick dark brown hair, sighing in disbelief. He reached the door and yanked it open, "I need some air."

He was halfway out the door when he suddenly stopped. Mark peeked back inside, looking at Felix.

"Uh... where's the restroom in this place?" Mark asked, flashing an awkward smirk.

"Down the hall to your left." Felix replied.

"Thank you." He closed it behind him and made his way down the corridor that had its halls plated with mirrors. Mark kept his head bowed down, trying to avoid making eye contact with the other people passing by.

"Mark!" Tyler called, "Mark, wait up!"

The YouTuber stopped in his tracks and listened to the footsteps of his friend running after him. 

"Yeah?" He lifted his head up to face his friend who was a few inches taller than him.

"Okay, first of all your response to Felix's proposal was a bit surprising, I didn't know you had it in you to say no. I had anticipated that you'd be more than willing to join us."

"Yeah, well, sorry to to have let you down there, Ty." Mark started walking again.

"We need your help, Mark. Felix already told you that only you can stop Dark."

The Korean-American man stayed silent.

"The world is in danger." Tyler recounted, "It's our duty to keep it safe from people like Darkiplier. I mean, it's a pretty big responsibility to have, but come on, look at the cool gear they gave us... for free!"

"I did not sign up for this, Tyler! I'm just... me... Markiplier, a man who talks in front of the camera."

"You're not just an average person, Mark."

"Really?" He asked, sarcasm evident in his question.

"Through the videos you have created, you've influenced millions of people, you have made them happy even the slightest bit - cheering them on, never forgetting to remind them that there's light at the end of the tunnel."

Mark was staring at his feet, the words his friend had released buzzing in his head.

"Dark wants to eradicate the human race, Mark. There won't be a world to change if there is no world."

The sheer thought of Darkiplier destroying the world struck a chord in him. He realized that the fate of the entire human race was hanging in the balance.

Silence followed. It went on for a few minutes, with Mark pondering on how high the stakes were.

"What if I fail?" Mark mumbled, finally breaking the silence. "What if I can't save us?"

"Let me quote the exact same words you've said in one of your videos..." Tyler squeezed his shoulder, looking at him directly in the eyes.

"Believe in yourself."

Mark broke from his friend's gaze, his mind still clouded with emotions.

"However, who am I to force you?" Tyler let go of his friend and shrugged, turning around and walking back to Felix's office at the end of the corridor, "In the end, it's always up to you, Mark."

________

Felix sat in his office, his hands fiddling with the Tiny Box Tim figure as he waited, checking the time on his wristwatch every now and then. His foot tapped on the floor, anxiety bubbling in his thoughts. He was taking deep breaths, letting out a sigh with every exhale while he watched Mark's dog Chica rolling on the carpet trying to rub her back against it.

The creak of the door made him jump. Tyler stepped inside.

"What happened?" Felix asked, immediately standing up from his chair as fast as he could.

Tyler flashed him a smile and held the door open, letting Mark get inside.

The sight of him made Felix smile ear to ear, it felt like a very large weight has been lifted from his chest upon seeing Mark back in his office.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Mark scoffed, "Let's go save the world."

"Right then!" The head of the Secret Service exclaimed, "We have no time to waste. Allow me to give you a brief overview about all of these. Please, have a seat."

Mark sat back on the leather couch, and Chica quickly ran by his side, placing her head on his lap.

"We're glad to have you here, Mark." Felix grinned, "Now, as a new recruit, you have to undergo intensive training, but we have to double that this time around, since our time is shorter than it usually is."

The enthusiastic look on Mark's face went away.

"I-intensive t-training?" Mark gulped, tugging on his collar.

"Yeah, y'know, workouts at the gym, hand-eye coordination, and other stress tests."

"Dear God, I hope I don't die just from working out."

"I have my fingers crossed for that." Felix chuckled, but Mark didn't, it just made him more nervous than before. "Keeping in line with the spy films, they refer to me, the extremely attractive head of office as K, like M in the James Bond films."

"So do we have agent names too?" Mark asked, standing up from his seat.

"Yes," K nodded, "I based the names of each agents here on either their usernames on social media or their online multiplayer name. Tyler over there is called Agent Apocalypto."

"That's cool." He smirked.

"I've already thought out a name for you, Mark." Felix said, eyes twinkling with excitement.

"I bet it's Agent Iplier, right?"

"Better." He extended his hand out between them, going in for a handshake,

"Welcome to Y.A.S.S., Agent Bumbum."

Mark stood there frozen, mouth hanging wide open.


	6. A YouTuber In Training

Warm sweat dripped on the matted floor. Mark's face hovered above it, the tip of his nose mere centimeters away from touching the ground. The man was trembling, wheezing out the air in his lungs as he struggled, the entirety of his weight now on his hands as he forced himself to push up.

He was drenched in sweat, face flushed, feeling the veins on his forearms throb. He felt like his eyes would pop out of their sockets anytime.

"C'mon, Mark!" Tyler cheered, "It's just a push up!"

"Fuck, I can't do it, Tyler!" Mark screamed, his powerful voice echoing in the gym.

"You can do it!" He replied, "Push yourself!"

"I-I c-can't!" Mark stayed there, his arms stuck in a ninety degree position which further stressed his already tightened muscles.

"Believe in yourself!"

"T-tell Amy I love her."

"NO!" Tyler stomped on the ground, surprising him, "Man the fuck up, and DO IT! JUST DO IT!"

Mark took deep and steady breaths, forcing his arms to push his body up, screaming as he did so, slowly straightening his arm until he completed the pushup.

"ONE!" He bellowed, staying in that position to gasp for air, "I FUCKING DID IT!"

"Great job!" His friend said, "Now do eleven more, rest for thirty seconds, then another twelve, rest, and another twelve."

"Shit." Mark drooped his head, groaning aloud.

"Then we head on over to sit-ups."

The man made another loud inhuman groan, realizing the predicament he had gotten himself into.

"We proceed to the treadmill."

Mark froze upon hearing those last few words.

"T-treadmill?" Mark gulped.

"Yeah."

"I'm dead." Mark collapsed on the ground face first.

The entire day was filled with him squealing like a pig as he did every workout, straining to complete the sets, gasping for air, and weeping like a child as he felt like his body was beaten into a pulp.

_________

The next morning, Mark couldn't get out of his bed, he felt like he was a motionless blob, the post workout pain had already kicked in since last night. Now he was all over the bed, lying spread-eagled not caring if his both of his legs were on the mattress. The last thing he could remember yesterday was him falling on the soft bed like a log, immediately drifting off to sleep.

The door suddenly burst open, and Tyler came rushing in all cheerful and lively, as opposed to his cranky and lifeless mood.

"Rise and shine, Markimoo!" He cheered, slapping Mark's foot off the bed making the latter squeal in pain. "Day two of your training begins now." He sat at the foot of Mark's bed.

"I can't feel my legs." Mark whimpered.

"Bah, don't worry," Tyler placed a hand on his friend's thigh.

"Ouch! Ow..." Mark yelped, on the verge of tears, struggling to reach for his pained area while attempting to sit up. "Ow..."

"Sorry." He lifted his hand off, "it's just at the beginning, you'll get used to it."

"Shit, what the hell did I get myself into?" The YouTuber sighed, staring at the ceiling as he rubbed his eyes with his hand.

"C'mon, sport!" Tyler shuffled on the bed and ended up sitting beside Mark's head, his hand snaking between the bed and his friend's back. Tyler lifted up Mark to sit up, grunting as he pushed his friend.

Mark screamed, every fiber of his being twitching when Tyler moved him. He had never felt this much pain since then.

"Jesus, Mark, how heavy are ya?" The agent asked.

"I dunno, last time I checked was a hundred and seventy-five pounds." Mark slowly extended out his hand to pick up his glasses on the table.

"When was that?"

"I-I don't recall... 2013? I guess? Heh." He shrugged, having an awkward smile on his face.

"Time to get you back in shape, dude." Tyler pat his back.

"OW! Don't touch me!" Mark flinched away from him then wrapped himself in the bedsheet like a burrito, "Don't touch any part of me right now!" He bowed his head.

"Sorry, man. I'll wait outside while you get ready for your training." He stood up and proceeded to the door. "You're probably gonna like today's session."

"What's that?" He looked up to see his friend with half of his body already outside.

"You'll find out once you get there." Tyler winked before shutting the door.

Mark sighed, taking off the sheet and bowing his head. It was just the beginning of his journey to becoming a super spy, and he very much knew that it wouldn't be as easy as he thought it would be. He wondered why he was doing this, that he could've just said no when Felix asked him.

He looked at the mirror in front of him, directly into the eyes of his reflection.

I have to do this.

As much as he did not want to fill his ego that he was some sort of a chosen one stereotype, Mark couldn't let his friends down especially in times of need.

"Another day, another suffering." He joked, urging himself to stand despite his muscles twitching.

_________

Mark stopped in front of a steel door, his entire body still trembling from yesterday's training while he stood there. He stared blankly at it for a few minutes, lots of thoughts in his head, whether he would continue with the strenuous activities the organization has in store for him or back out as early as possible.

He lifted up his arm and knocked. Within seconds, it swung open, and Tyler was waiting for him inside. His friend was wearing protective eyeglasses and thick earmuffs. Upon seeing the frail Mark standing outside having a confused look on his face, a smile formed on the agent's face.

"Mark! So glad you can join us!" Tyler greeted.

That was when the sound of gunshots rang through his ears, coming from inside the room.

Mark jumped, immediately plugging his ears with his fingers, "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Oh," Tyler scoffed, "It's your next training - the shooting range."

This peaked the YouTuber's interest. Mark's cheek prepped up as a wide smile formed on his face, trying his best to contain his excitement.

"Uh... Mark?" Tyler snapped his fingers in front of Mark's face, who was staring blankly into space, "Agent Bumbum?"

This shook the latter back into reality. I hate my agent name. He thought to himself.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Aren't you gonna come inside?" Tyler moved from obstructing his path inside as the gunshots continued.

"Right." Mark gleefully treaded inside, finally getting a view of the range.

It was a long room, soundproofed by the ceiling and walls covered with a special type of tiles that absorbs sound waves. Mark then saw three other agents standing in small booths divided by bulletproof plexiglass shooting at targets some meters away from them.

"Welcome to your next task, Mark." Tyler said, picking up a Heckler & Koch USP pistol from the large collection of guns on the table, ranging from pistols to high power sniper rifles.

Mark's eyes were following the gun in Tyler's hand as he walked towards him.

"All agents must have their own gun once they've been sent on a mission... but as of now, you get to practice with one of mine." The spy twirled the gun in his hand, ending up with the handle facing Mark.

Still having his eyes on the gun, Mark croaked, "M-me?"

"Yeah you." Tyler smirked, "Unless I'm talking to the wall behind you."

He slowly reached for the gun, feeling his palms close around the leather handle. He then took it from his friend's grasp.

"Careful, I've never-"

The gun slipped from Mark's grip and fell to the ground with a loud clang.

Tyler shut his eyes, his entire body shuddering when he heard the impact of the gun to the tiled floor.

"-dropped it." He finished.

"Sorry." Mark picked it up with one swoop.

"Now, you probably know how to handle a gun, right?"

"I think so." Mark felt the weight of the weapon in his hand.

"In this part, we'll be evaluating on how you handle one of the most powerful weapon ever created. Then later on train you on gunfights."

"I would've guessed." he shrugged.

"Here, put this on." Tyler handed him a new pair of earmuffs, then a pair of safety glasses.

Mark voluntarily walked to one of the booths, feeling more thrilled compared to yesterday. He liked guns, he would always be fascinated by gunfights in movies, and now that he's the one who was holding a weapon of mass destruction. . .

It couldn't get any better than this.

"Get your gun up, Mark." His friend instructed.

Before he did so, the YouTuber pressed a small side button, dropping the magazine from the pistol itself onto his palm. He took a quick glance and saw it was loaded with bullets. Mark shoved the magazine back inside and cocked the gun.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Hold up." Mark toggled the safety switch on the side.

"Nice." Tyler remarked.

He brought it up to shoulder level, his right arm outstretched as his left hand supported the bottom of the handle. Mark tilted his head ever so slightly to the right until he was able to align his line of sight to the front and back sight of the barrel.

The trainee took a deep breath and shut his left eye as his hands tightly gripped the handle, waiting for the moment to arrive.

"Begin!"

A cutout of a person flipped up from the floor, at least ten feet away from him, having a bullseye sticker on the head, chest and abdomen.

In a split second, Mark centered the sight on the target, quickly pulling the trigger and hitting the head, within the red and white rings and inches away from the center.

The cutout then flipped back down just as another one showed up, this time double the distance the first one was and at the far left.

Mark turned to his left and shot, hitting the chest.

In the corner of his eye, another target immediately came from a slit on the wall, hanging from a conveyor on the ceiling.

Still, he was able to catch it, firing three shots at the moving piece, all of them landing a hit.

Then at the center, another one rose, now advancing towards him simulating a running man.

He fired, showering it bullets to that head.

"Test over!" Tyler declared.

Mark brought down his gun, his hands trembling from nervousness. However, he had a smile on his face, the rush of adrenaline still coursing through his veins.

"Holy shit, Mark." Felix spoke, making Mark jolt and turn around.

"Y-you saw?" Mark mumbled, his shyness kicking in.

"Oh yes." Felix approached him, having a grin on his face, "I saw everything. Even I was blown away - no pun intended. You have a terrific aim, where did you learn that?"

Mark shrugged, "Uhh... video games, I guess?"


	7. The Dark Mark Rises

Eight thousand eight hundred miles away from Los Angeles, California lies the town of Brighton, Sussex, a city located on the southern coast of England. It was know for its beautiful view of the sunset at the famous Brighton pier.

It was just the start of the day, the sun had just risen, illuminating the horizon in a stunning orange hue. The city was covered in a thin layer of snow, and it was not unusual in January. From houses to streets, to cars parked on the driveways, almost everything was white from a person's view.

Despite all of this, business in Brighton did not slow down one bit, it was still a bustling place filled with people going on their daily jobs and cars driving in and out of parkways and garages.

Among the crowd was a tall thin man with vibrant blue hair, wearing a thick grey hoodie with side pockets where he had his hands stuffed inside, trying to shake off the cold winter morning.

He was shivering, breathing out air from his mouth that instantly turned into smoke. It was his first time to visit Brighton, he never knew it was that damn freezing. In fact, it was so cold that it fogged up his thick-rimmed prescription glasses.

The man hurriedly walked down the street, entering a local cafe that had warmer, more tolerable temperature. He ordered a cup of warm coffee then sat down at one of the vacant spots near the large window pane before glueing his eyes on the screen of his phone and chatting away.

"One hot Caramel Macchiato for Ethan?" The barista called out.

His head cocked up once he heard his name. Ethan rushed over to retrieve his drink.

"It's cold out there, isn't it?" The female barista said.

"Yeah, it's freezing." He agreed, "Thanks." He picked up his order and proceed to walk back to his place.

"Oh, and sir?" She called out, making him stop in his tracks.

The man turned to face her, "Yes?"

"You forgot to collect your stickers, for the promo."

"Oh yeah!" He fished out a small card that had stickers he had collected over the months. "I almost forgot about that."

She took his card and flipped it open, "Wow, sir, you've already collected them all. which means you can claim your freebie." The woman said.

"Really?"

"Yeah." She said with a smile on her face, "Just let me validate this, and I'll come back with your planner." She walked away.

"Sure thing."

Just after a few minutes the barista returned with a still-sealed booklet that had leather as its cover, complete with a big engraved 2017 number in front.

"Here you go." She handed the item to him along with the used sticker card.

"Thanks."

"Don't lose it, though. I bet it'll come in handy." She said.

"Yeah, to fix my messy schedule." He laughed, "See ya!" He bid.

"Thank you, sir!" She waved goodbye.

The man zoomed back to his spot before anyone could take it from him and before he knew it, he was yet again immersed into his phone.

"Excuse me?" Someone tapped his shoulder, it was a voice of a girl.

"Yeah?" Ethan detached from his phone and looked up, greeting her with a smirk.

The girl appeared to be at least thirteen to fifteen years old, average build and height, fair complexion, and having curly hair that was fixed behind her head into a puffy bun. The look on her face was beyond joy, it was excitement. In her hands were her phone with its camera app already launched, a spiral notebook, and pen.

"Are you Ethan-?" She stammered, "the Ethan Nestor? Crankgameplays?"

He smiled even wider, exposing his teeth. He never knew that someone would recognize him. "Yes, I am."

She was shaking, the giddiness could evidently be seen in her light brown eyes.

"C-can I-I have an autograph?" She extended out her hand holding her phone but then retreated and handed out the notebook and pen. She was clearly nervous.

"Sure, kiddo!" Ethan adjusted his glasses then flipped the notebook to a blank page. "To whom shall I address this, buddy?"

"M-me." She mumbled.

"And what shall I call this beautiful lady standing in front of me?"

The girl let out what could only be described as a combination of a beluga whale's mating call and a squeal as she tried her best not to lose it in front of him.

"It's Lily." She replied with her strong English accent.

"Lily." He began writing on the pad, "What a lovely name." He finished by affixing his signature. "Here you go."

"C-can I t-take a picture?" Her hand holding up her phone was shaking.

"Sure! Why not?" Ethan replied with a gleeful chuckle.

Lily stood closer to him and turned the camera into selfie mode which made them see themselves on the phone's screen.

"Wow, my eyes look bluer than usual, or is it just the camera filter?" Ethan joked, and that earned a laugh from Lily.

They took numerous shots, and Ethan was totally cool with it. It was pretty awesome to meet members of his 'Cranky Crew' in real life. They were one of the nicest communities on the internet, and he was thankful for that.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Nestor!" Lily retreated, slowly backing away as she waved goodbye at him, "It's nice meeting you."

He responded with a scoff, "Please, call me Ethan!" He waved back.

The teenager left the cafe and jumped, her fangirl squeal loud enough for the people inside to hear. He still had a smile on his face.

Until a small pop-up on the left lens of his glasses appeared. And it said:

K   
Incoming call...

This alerted Ethan, he quickly changed from the cheerful person to a serious one. He tapped the frame of his spectacles.

"K." He greeted.

The window expanded to show a video chat from Felix Kjellberg.

"Agent Crank." Felix replied, "That was pretty nice of you to entertain your fans."

"They're awesome." He chuckled.

"Have you met with our informant?"

"I'm already at the rendezvous, but they're not yet here, hey said nine o'clock sharp, and it's already nine fifteen."

"We'll have to wait for it, then. Just buy more coffee for some stickers while you wait."

"I already have claimed my planner," Ethan unfolded the sticker collector, "the barista said that I've c-"

He was cut off when he saw that he was still two stickers away from actually collecting it all.

"I thought you've completed them?" Felix asked.

"I... Wait a minute." Ethan's focus was turned to the sealed booklet.

Without any hesitation, he tore through the plastic wrapper and cast it aside. He flipped open the first page to reveal that the entire middle section of the planner was cut, turned into a secret compartment that had a small flash drive placed inside.

"Clever." Crank remarked, glancing at the counter to see the same barista he talked to earlier looking back at him. She then winked at him.

"Clever." Felix repeated.

"I'm heading back to have a look at this."

"Update me when you've done."

"How's our new recruit?" Ethan asked.

"He's fine, he's doing well in the shooting aspect. In the physical part... eh... not so much." Felix shrugged.

"Mark is a skillful man, I know he can do this."

"See you later, Ethan. Watch your back."

"You too, K." Ethan said, ending their call.

Ethan stood up and brought his still smoking hot coffee with him, hurrying to the exit where the same barista stood, who was wiping the frost off the glass windows.

He stopped just in front of the door, the woman a few feet to his left. "I believe someone might lose their job for boring a hole in one of their planners." I whispered.

"You're welcome." She replied with a smirk still wiping the panes. "Now go, you don't want to be caught out in the open carrying sensitive data."

"See you around." He waved.

Ethan stepped outside, shivering upon feeling the cold air make contact with his skin. He took a sip of his coffee as he merged in with the crowd, keeping his senses on high alert.

Then, in the reflection of the store window, he could have sworn he saw a glimpse of two men trailing after him, they had muscular built in thick black jackets, notably taller than him.

This made him pace faster, but he did not bother to turn his head back to look at them. He just pushed forward, his eyes making glances every now and then at the store windows he passed by, still seeing the reflection of the men.

He suddenly bumped into someone up front.

"Oh, sorry!" Ethan apologized, still keeping his head bowed down.

"You should watch where you're going, Ethan." The man replied, having a deep voice.

Ethan's eyes grew wide. He slowly looked up and saw the man standing in front of him. He had bright fiery red hair, wide sinister grin, and a terrifying glare.

The Dark Mark himself.

Darkiplier.

"What's the hurry, bucko?" Dark asked, cracking his neck, "Why aren't you enjoying the sights? Brighton is one of my favorite places in the U.K."

"I've got some important errands to do." Ethan looked back into his unblinking eyes.

Darkiplier's presence struck fear in him, he appeared very powerful, very much in control, very imposing. It felt like whatever hope Ethan had within him simply vanished without any explanation.

"What errands?" The man replied, "Meet with your girlfriend back at that cafe?"

Ethan stepped to the side but was blocked by Dark.

"I've noticed that she'd given you something, something that'll bring us closer to that one thing that both of us seek." Dark hissed.

"I dunno what you're talking about." Ethan discreetly dug his free hand into his jacket pocket and clasped around the small storage device.

"I learned that particular flash drive you're hiding in your pocket contains the location where Wilford Warfstache is hiding, the man who currently owns the McGuffin."

"What are you talking about, Dark?"

"Don't you play dumb, Ethan. I know about Y.A.S.S., I know about your plan to stop me from eradicating the human race."

Agent Crank felt the two henchmen surround him: one on his left and one on his right.

"Give it to me, and I promise not to disfigure most of your baby face." Dark said calmly.

Ethan felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed to the back of his head.

"Wait a minute." Ethan held up his hand, stopping Dark from speaking any further. He took a sip of his coffee, savoring the sweetness of it. "This is one good coffee." He remarked, "Want some?" He brought it towards the man in front of him.

Dark did not reply.

"No? Okay." Ethan shrugged, "I hate to waste a good cup of coffee."

He suddenly spun around faster than the men could react, ramming the cup into the gunman's face and in turn spilling the boiling hot beverage on him. Next he elbowed the second goon in the chin as the first clutched his burning face, bringing both of them down.

He spared no time and dashed away from Darkiplier, going as fast as he could, going through the startled crowds of people with ease.

"GET HIM!" He heard Dark bellow.

Amongst the people, Ethan saw another guy charging at him.

Agent Crank's eyes did a quick scan of his surroundings, before sliding on the slippery frozen sidewalk, going under the man's open arms. Ethan then got back up to his feet and made a left, going into a dark alleyway with two more guys going after him.

"K. I'm compromised." Ethan radioed in.

"Get outta there!" Felix replied, panicked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He looked around, seeing fire escape ladders and pipes as he approached a corner.

But then he was tackled by a third man to the ground.

The agent's world shook the moment he took the powerful punch delivered by the man, it ended up shattering his glasses, he saw a fuzzy image of the man having bright red hair as he bore down on him with his knee.

"What makes you think you can get away from me?" Dark whispered into his ear, before punching him again. "Come here."

He pulled on the agent's collar. Ethan was dazed, he could taste blood in his mouth as he was pulled up from the ground and forced to kneel in front of Dark. He was gasping for air, his eyes almost swollen shut by the forming bruise and the small shards of shattered glass lodged in his face.

"Hmm," Dark said, "I can picture thousands... no... millions of people doing that one day, kneeling for mercy." He soaked in his own ego as he wiped his bloody fist.

"You'll never get that ruby." Ethan replied with a smirk, spitting out blood from his mouth as more dripped to the floor.

Dark guffawed, "With you at my disposal, where is my disadvantage?"

"You always fucking talk too much."

Ethan held his breath, pulled out three small marble-sized balls from his back pocket and smashed them on the ground, releasing thick white smoke in a matter of seconds startling the three men surrounding him.

The agent sprung into action, climbing up a dumpster and grabbing onto the rungs of the fire escape ladder. Even though he was half blind, Ethan was able to make it up with ease, using his gymnastics training to guide himself.

The agent was able to get as far away from the pursuers, finally stopping on a rooftop.

Weakened by his encounter, Ethan slumped to the floor, catching his breath, using his scarf to wipe his bleeding face. He felt for his jacket pocket and pulled out the flash drive, sighing in relief when he saw it.

Then his watch beeped, "Ethan? Ethan? Are you there?"

Ethan weakly lifted his head and spoke into the watch, "Yes, K. I'm here."

"What happened? Are you alright?"

"I'm good." He said out of breath, "But I think we need our guy ASAP."


	8. Leap of Faith

"Ready?" Tyler asked, holding up a bat as he stood a few feet away from Mark.

Mark's heart raced. He was equipped with nothing but his fists. "How come you get to have the bat and I get nothing?" He sighed.

"A superspy must always be trained in hand to hand combat regardless of the situation he's put in, that's why I have a bat. Plus, I can beat the shit outta you for eating the last piece of chocolate cake in the fridge." Tyler grinned, the look on his face seemed to convey anger that terrified Mark.

"How did you know it was me?" Mark mumbled.

"That chocolate on your shirt explains everything." His friend pointed to Mark's red shirt.

Mark looked down, seeing an obvious brown stain on his shirt, "Oh, I probably should've changed out of these before we started."

"I waited till after training for me to eat that cake but then you eat it? You're going down." He clutched the handle with both hands.

"Wait! Wait! We can sort this out!" He trembled, "I can buy you an entire cake!"

"Not an option!" Tyler charged at him yelling on top of his lungs.

"Eek!" Mark squealed, ducking under the first swing of his friend's bat, feeling the gust of air as the wood flew above his hair, "Don't kill me!"

The man stood back upright, "TYLER!"

But then his friend elbowed him in the face. Mark could've sworn he felt his nose crack. He flew back, falling on the rubber matted ground with a loud thud. He rolled in pain clutching his face, the numbness around his nose quickly taking effect.

"Fight like your life depends on it!" Tyler taunted.

He swung again, this time hitting Mark's hip.

"Is this the initiation?!" Mark wailed, swatting away the bat.

"That's why you should fight back!" The taller man jabbed the weapon at him.

However, Mark was able to bend backward, using his hand to prevent him from hitting the ground completely as the bat hovered mere inches away from his nose. He then pushed himself back to stand, immediately catching a glimpse of Tyler making another attempt.

The trainee jumped over the low swing in a split second, his eyes quickly analyzing his opponent's move.

Mark held both of his hands in front of his face, catching the bat in them. Him and Tyler were now face to face, with the weapon serving as their only barrier.

"This is fucking intense." Mark said, catching hid breath.

Tyler's eyes narrowed, and he smirked, "Things are about to get wilder, Fischbach." He suddenly pushed, shoving Mark back as hard as he could until the latter hit his behind against the edge of a nearby table filled with gym equipment and their bags.

Mark released his grip and rolled over the table, snatching one of the bags along the way. He held on the strap and spun it around once like a hammer throw in a track and field event, before releasing it his foe, the weight of the bag causing Tyler to fall back upon impact.

The man was on the ground, dazed but still refusing to back down, "Hmm... resourceful." And before Mark knew it, Tyler was back at his feet.

The YouTuber snatched a towel on the table and stretched it as long as he could, holding the farther end higher than the other.

"Really?" Tyler scoffed, "A towel?"

"I learned this from P.E. Class." Mark twisted the cloth and charged at his friend, releasing one side and hit Tyler's feet making a loud whip that made the persistent adversary yelp.

"OW!"

"Dance, Tyler! DANCE!" Mark continuously whipped at his opponent's feet.

The curly haired man twirled his foot, wounding up the towel around his leg. He stepped that foot back and taking it away from his friend's grasp.

"How immature, Mark." He laughed, turning the bat around and holding it like it was a nightstick.

Mark hurriedly retreated, dashing away from the man and heading back to the table again. This time, he slid under it.

As soon as Mark has cleared the table, he saw a pair of feet jump from above, it was Tyler, having climbed over and in pursuit of him. The YouTuber quickly rolled to his right when Tyler landed on the ground accompanied by the strike of the baseball bat.

He kept rolling, looking like a burrito while he did it, desperate to avoid every attack Tyler made at him.

Soon enough he had the opportunity to stumble to his feet. He charged Tyler head on, swatting the bat away and hurling his fist into the enemy's face and snatching his weapon.

But then the opponent grabbed his leg and pulled, causing Mark to lose his balance and fall to the floor. Tyler pinned Mark down with an elbow to his neck.

"Not bad, Mark." He said, panting, wiping the blood from his lower lip. He released him and helped him stand, "You're honestly the first person to almost beat me."

"Awesome." Mark smiled, feeling a bit exhilarated from the compliment.

"I always knew you had it in you." Tyler said, putting an arm around him.

"Thanks."

"Now, about that promise you made about buying me a cake." He pulled Mark to the exit. "C'mon. Let's get something to eat before we proceed."

________

Mark bent over and rested his arms on his knees, taking a few breaths of air as he looked at the obstacle course in front of him having somewhat of a resemblance to the one in the TV show American Ninja Warrior. He was dripping with sweat, clearly exhausted from the intense training he had undergone. He even lost track how long he was doing it.

"Alright, Mark." Tyler said, who was standing beside him holding up a remote control and a piece of a partially-eaten chocolate cake, "Ready for your next trial?"

The YouTuber brushed his long black 'floofy' hair back as it had grown wildly over his face. "Bring it." He said out of breath.

"This will be the combination of everything you've learned from the past two weeks of your training."

"Shit." Mark wheezed, realizing the "I-I don't think I can do it, I still can't climb up a vertical wall or jump great gaps, Ty-"

"In three... two... one... GO!" Tyler seemed to ignore what Mark said.

"Fuck this." Mark kicked off the ground and charged towards the obstacle course, seeing an elevated platform made of wood supported by steel beams.

He leapt on top and was now greeted by a series of steps a few feet apart that led to the next course. The said platforms were above a pool of cube spongy foam, which to Mark, was a bit tempting to not jump into and wallow in it.

And without any other choice, Mark made his move, jumping one after the other, almost slipping at the last one.

The next was a rapid climb on a pole. And the YouTuber went up it like it was nothing, given that he was already trained in pole dancing a few years back.

He grew tired upon reaching the top, every inch of his body aching, having trained for more than eight hours. Mark was now high up in the air, almost at the ceiling of the large gymnasium when he approached the edge, seeing the almost three meter gap between him and the next course.

"Fucking hell." He trembled, seeing the sheer ten foot drop to a pile of foam cubes, "That's one helluva drop."

"Ah, I remember that part of the course. So far, no one has ever made that jump, not even me, and I have abnormally long legs. That's why it's called The Leap of Faith."

"What makes my case so different if no one has ever crossed it?" Mark replied.

"You can do it, Mark!" Tyler cheered.

Mark paced around, "I-I don't know..."

"Just do it! Take a leap of faith!"

The nervous man ran his hand through his hair. He backed away from the edge, his body poised to run. Although he looked prepared, his mind was not.

"FLOOF THE HAIR FOR POWER!" He violently ruffled his hair, letting out a battle cry afterwards.

His surroundings appeared to have slowed down the second he began running, heading to the edge, heart racing faster than ever before. Mark was yelling, almost injuring his vocal chords as he faced the unavoidable jump. 

Fuck this. He said to himself.

Upon feeling his foot step near the edge, he launched himself in the air heading towards the other side.

Down below, Tyler watched in awe seeing Mark high in the air between the gap, legs far apart.

"I'M GONNA MAKE IT!" Mark yelled.

But then he slammed into the foam wall just below the edge.


	9. Gadgets and Gizmos Aplenty

Tyler walked through the halls of the secret service, humming some tunes while he straightened his partially creased plain white shirt and put on a small earpiece. He then brushed his brown curly hair back even though he himself knew that it wouldn't make any difference. Along the way he greeted some of the fellow agents he met, sharing brief conversations and gestures with them.

"Apocalypto, can you hear me?" Felix spoke through the earpiece.

"Good morning, K." The man replied.

"Good morning to you too." The boss greeted, "I need you in my office. We have an update on The MacGuffin."

"Sure thing. Be there in a few." He made a right turn and went into another corridor before finally stopping by the third door to the left.

Tyler knocked on the door thrice. Then loud barking came from inside.

"Mark?" He called out, "You awake?" He asked, knocking again.

A high-pitched squeal was the response. Tyler knew it was Mark's.

"J-just a-a minute!" Mark yelled, grunting aloud and letting out indescribable yells in agony.

The door opened, and a cheery Chica ran out and jumped up in excitement when she saw Tyler. The golden retriever was trembling with excitement as her thick furry tail wagged.

"Hey Chica! You adorable girl!" Tyler playfully ruffled the fur on the dog's head, kneeling down to her height that further excited the dog, "Have you seen Mark?"

A pair of legs wearing black sweatpants appeared by the doorway.

"Hey, Tyler." Mark spoke, voice raspy and deep.

Tyler looked up, seeing a few wet spots on Mark's legs and thighs and discovering that he was not wearing anything on top except for a pink ladies' bra.

He jumped back up, "JESUS CHRIST! Why are you wearing a bra?!"

Further observing the man's body, Tyler saw a lot of ice packs tied to various parts of Mark's body that had bruises, and some of them have already melted away and were now dripping on the floor. Mark himself was also holding a pack to his head.

"What?" Mark groggily hobbled, "Amy left a pair and I used it to keep ice packs on my pecs." He said as he took out a bag from one cup.

"Mark in a bra. That's another image I'm not gonna get out of my brain." Tyler shook his head. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Oh y'know, I'm alright - EXCEPT I'VE GOT FUCKIN' BRUISES ALL OVER MY BODY!" Mark snarled, flashing the said injuries, "Now I know how cartoons feel when running into a wall."

The man laughed loudly and Mark just glowered at him.

"I fucking hate that Leap of Faith." Mark grumbled.

"Don't worry-" Tyler pat Mark's shoulder.

"OW!" Mark jolted away, "NO TOUCHIE!"

"Sorry." He took back his hand, "Don't worry, I hate that thing too."

The YouTuber just sighed.

"Anyway, I stopped by to remind you of your next session."

Mark rolled his eyes and sighed loudly, "Will the suffering ever end?!"

"Patience, my dear Markimoo. You'll be good at it one day." Tyler smirked. "Now if you'll excuse me, K is requesting my presence for the time being. I'll give you a call if we're to begin."

"Okay." He lazily turned around and went back into his room.

But then in a split second, Tyler reached out a finger and poked one of the bruises on Mark's back before speeding off hearing his friend squeal a note as high as the singer who sang The 7th Element.

"TYLER! YOU FUCK!" Mark's yell echoed throughout the hall as Tyler ran as fast as he could, laughing.

The agent finally ended up on Felix's doorstep, catching his breath as he knocked on the door.

"Come in, Tyler." K said through the small speaker on the wall.

There was a buzz right before the door opened. Tyler stepped in, still taking large gasps of air, still with a grin on his face.

"What's the laughing all about?" Felix asked, looking utterly confused.

"It's nothing," Tyler breathed, "I just gave Markiplier a wake up call."

Felix did not want to know further, as there were more things at stake than that. He brushed it off and fixed his tux, "Okay then, on to more important things." He said, turning around and heading back to his table.

"What's this about, K?" Tyler followed suit, standing opposite Felix with the table between them.

The head of the secret service leaned on the table, sighing. "Crank has met with our contact and our theory has been proven true: that Wilford Warfstache has the ruby. And the item that was handed over to him during the rendezvous were the coordinates where Warfstache is currently hiding."

"Wilford knew Dark is after it?"

"I believe he does." Felix nodded, "And Ethan came into contact with Dark and a bunch of his men - barely evaded capture and had sustained heavy injuries during his escape."

"This is not good." Tyler shook his head.

"Which is why I called you here. We have to cut Mark's training short, and send him off to Brighton to go after Dark."

Tyler was taken aback, "I-I'm not sure if he's ready. I mean... I know he can, but not with only three weeks worth of practice."

"I know." K brushed his white hair back, locking his bright blue eyes on Tyler's brown ones, conveying an emotion of uncertainty, "But it's a risk we're gonna have to take."

Thoughts clouded Tyler's mind. He always trusted Mark, he knew that Mark could pull off the impossible. However, Mark had barely scraped the surface of his journey into being a spy.

"Okay." Tyler reluctantly agreed, fear being his most dominant feeling in the time being, "I'm coming with him to Brighton, in case things get sour."

"Although he still has one last test." Felix added.

"He does?" The agent raised an eyebrow, "What kind?"

"Worry not, Apocalypto, I have it all planned out." He smirked, patting Tyler's shoulder, "For now, you should introduce the more techy side of the agency to your student."

"Fine." The man took out his phone and dialed for Mark, "Hello, Mark."

"Fuck you, Tyler!" Mark's voice yelled through the speaker, ringing through his ears.

Tyler roared with laughter, putting the phone on speaker, "Sorry about that. Listen, I need you to come meet me at Felix's office now."

"Okay. But first... can you do me a favor?"

"Sure thing, what is it?"

"Bend over and kiss your ass goodbye, because when I get there I'm gonna destroy that ass." Mark paused, "WAIT! I SAID THAT WRONG!"

Felix and Tyler burst into laughter.

"Damn, what I meant to say is that I'm gonna kick your ass for what you did." Mark's voice lowered, embarrassment evident in his tone.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll see you in a few minutes." Tyler said, still with a wide grin on his face when he hung up.

"Mark sure does have poor choice of words." K shook his head.

"He said so in one of his videos, 'I don't word good'." Tyler quoted.

__________

Minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Mark stepped inside, having changed into a more casual clothes: plain white shirt, dark blue jeans, and a pair of sneakers.

"Hey, boss." Mark greeted when he saw Felix.

"Hey, Bumbum." Felix replied, glancing up at him then gasping, "Why are you wearing a bra?"

The two could see the obvious humps on Mark's chest.

"He uses them to keep an ice pack to his man boobs." Tyler whispered to Felix.

"Ohh." K nodded.

"Now let's go." Tyler ushered Mark back out the door, his arm around his friend's still sore shoulders. "See you later, K." Tyler waved back.

"Where are we going?" Mark asked, his shoulder painfully throbbing under the weight of Tyler's arm.

"We're now heading to the where most of the spy shit happen - The Gadgets Department." Tyler said with a smile.

"Could you please take your arm off of me?" Mark whimpered, face scrunched up enduring the agonizing pain he was currently experiencing.

"C'mon, and I'll introduce you to the nerds who made all the fancy stuff us agents have but I think you already know them."

They stopped by a different door, but this had a small frosted glass window where one could see vague figures of people moving about inside. On that said glass were words written in gold ink.

WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

"Hello?" Tyler knocked on the glass.

The door opened and a curly haired bespectacled man in his late twenties peeked outside. A familiar face that made Mark gasp in shock.

"Bob?!" Mark's eyes widened, "You're one of them too?!"

"Yes." Bob Muyskens said, "and so is him." pushing the door open wide enough for Mark to see another man with tall stature, thick beard, and short buzzcut hair.

"Wade!" The YouTuber could not believe his eyes. He was feeling both excited and confused.

"Mark!" Wade Barnes spread his arms when he walked to him, before suddenly stopping, "Is that a bra?" He pointed to Mark's chest.

"Yes." Mark shamelessly answered.

"Cool. Now come here!" He resumed his intention, trapping Mark in a tight embrace, "Good to see ya, buddy!"

Mark yelped, his bruises being grazed on by by Wade's long arms, "Put me down!"

"Wade, put him down." Tyler interrupted, "He just ran into a wall yesterday."

"Oh!" Wade dropped Mark back to the floor.

"Thank you." Mark fixed the creases on his shirt, "And no, I did not run into a wall. I slammed into a wall."

"And I've got a video to prove it!" Tyler stuck his phone in front of Bob and Wade's faces that played a video of Mark slamming into a wall.

"HEY!" Mark bellowed  
"HEY!" Mark bellowed. Interrupting the three men huddling in front of the cellphone. "Can we get on with what you're planning to do, Tyler?"

"Oh yeah, almost forgot about that." Tyler pocketed his phone, "Would you mind showing us your new arsenal of weapons?"

"Right this way, Apocalypto." Wade guided them inside, stopping by a table that had random ordinary things on it along with the Tiny Box Tim figure Mark had received a few weeks prior to this madness.

Bob picked up the TBT figure, "This container was designed to not just keep the MacGuffin Ruby, but it could also inflate."

Bob dropped the box on the floor then pressed a button on a small remote in his hand. And as claimed, the metal figure unfolded, and a brown rubbery material inside inflated rapidly, as fast as an airbag in a car, growing to more than ten times the original size of the figure.

"Your own giant bubble, able to withstand falls as high as a two thousand feet. The person inside will endure little to none at the moment of impact. You'll just bounce off the ones in the theme park."

"Awesome." Mark had a childish smile on his face, adjusting the ice pack bra on his chest.

"On to the next one." Wade tugged on Mark and Tyler's arms and dragged them to the next table. "Here we have the grappling pen."

He raised a pen that looked like the usual and could be found in an average man's office desk.

"Not only that it could help you with your horrible penmanship, but it's also, as the title obviously states, a grappling hook. Y'know, like Batman's gun that hoists him up the walls and lets him swing from one place to another."

"Can this carry a twenty seven year old man with a mental age of seven?" Mark asked, swirling the pen between his fingers.

"Yes." Wade said, eyes wide, and following the pen as Mark played with it, "But be careful, you might-"

The cap of the pen flew away, and attached to it was a length of rope, flying between Tyler's legs and wrapping around one of them. Mark seized the opportunity and pulled on the rope, sending Tyler falling back and crashing to the floor.

"PAYBACK'S A BITCH, TYLER! HA!" Mark cheered.

"Moving on." Wade walked away with Mark and Bob trailing behind him leaving behind the downed Tyler.

Upon reaching a different portion of the room, Bob stepped in front.

"Wade and I have been expecting Mark to join Y.A.S.S. anytime soon, so we've already designed a few items for you, Mark." Bob said, adjusting the thick rimmed glasses on his nose as Wade took out a clipboard.

"Really?" Mark's head cocked up, surprised.

"You bet your ass we did." Wade beamed, "Aside from the fingerprint-enabled TBT figure over there, I also made this." He picked up a small case made of aluminum having locks on it, like one of those briefcases in the movies that carried ransom money, but smaller.

Bob opened the case and it revealed what appeared to be a small pistol with a built that resembled Mark's trademark pink mustache, one side of the 'stache being the handle while the other serving as the barrel of the gun. It was made obvious as there was a small portion of barrel sticking out of that side.

"Your personalized gun."

Mark had his mouth agape.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Take it!"

The YouTuber gulped, taking the gun from where it rested; the cold metal body of it touching his skin gave him shivers, it was an exhilarating feeling for him.

"This gun will only work for you, only you can fire it, as the handle will detect the palm print of the holder." Wade explained. "You can also see that it has two settings."

Mark looked at a small indicator just above his hand where he was holding the gun.

"One makes it fire bullets." Wade said.

Mark nodded, switching it to the second setting.

"The second is-"

Mark accidentally pulled on the trigger. Then a laser beam shot out of the gun and bounced on the reflective aluminum container, and puncturing a hole in his own ice pack bra.

"-laser." Wade finished, watching a stream of water flow out of the trainee's left bra.

"Sorry." Mark mumbled.

Suddenly, the alarms blared.

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing as the entire room flashed red.

"What's going on?!" Mark asked.

"It's an emergency." Tyler grabbed on Mark's arm.

"What kind of emergency?!" He panicked, tightly grabbing his newly acquired pistol.

"We have intruders in the facility."


	10. The King of Five Nights at Freddy's!

The alarms blared, and everyone in the room armed themselves. Mark tightly gripped his newly acquired weapon, feeling a soft vibrate on the handle as soon as it has detected his palm. He stuck close to Tyler who snatched an electric baton from the table.

"Stay close." Tyler said.

The lights suddenly went off, leaving only the red emergency lights.

"How come there are intruders in the facility? It's a building filled with super spies, and should be guarded at all times." Mark questioned the odd occurrence.

"You can't expect everything from the movies to translate in real life, right?" Wade replied, "I mean, they only show a few scenes of the office in the movies."

All four of them walked to the exit huddled together like quarterbacks, backs pressed against one another giving them a view from all corners in the room as they quietly made their escape.

"Where are the intruders, Bob?" Tyler asked.

The curly haired man whipped out a small tablet from his coat and switched it on, displaying a blurry video of a dark hallway in the building, along with a selection menu at the bottom right corner.

"What's that?" Mark asked.

"This video is a live feed from the second floor left wing of Y.A.S.S.." Bob replied, before pressing a button on the menu below his thumb, switching the video to another portion of the facility, this time it was the large gym where Mark had been training in. "The downside is that due to the hardware limitations, the tablet can only display one video feed at a time."

"Now," Wade joined in, "You may say that the agency is crap at being secure, but we have put booby traps all over the place. Y'know? Hidden panels, sliding doors, walls shooting out darts..."

"Whoa-whoa-hold it! Walls shooting out darts?!" Mark interrupted, alarmed, "isn't that a little overkill?"

"Don't worry, Markimoo! Those are the tranquilizer darts." Bob assured, this time selecting the camera on the third floor hallway, "I think."

"Any visual on them?" Tyler said, stepping closer to the exit.

Amidst the loud blaring of the sirens, Tyler felt his watch vibrate. It was a call from Felix.

With a press of a button on the watch, Tyler said, "K? What's happening?"

"Tyler? Tyler, are you there?" Felix was whispering.

The tone of his voice alerted Tyler, "K? What's wrong?"

The other three listened to the call.

"I'm trapped in my office. Someone's trying to break in."

There was a loud bang from Felix's side.

"Stay put, boss. We're coming to get you." Tyler said.

"You gotta hurry. I think the door can only hold for more or less three minutes."

"Alright!" Tyler replied, before hanging up and turning to Mark and the others, "We have to get to the boss. He's in danger. And we have less than three minutes to get to him." Tyler started a timer on his watch.

"Let's get to it, then." Bob said, glancing back to his tablet.

With his eyes still staring at the screen, Mark was immediately able to see an outline of a person in the far end of the hall, just as the static on the video had settled.

"There they are!" Mark exclaimed. "Four guys in an all-black outfit."

"What? I don't see anything?" Bob narrowed his eyes.

"Give that to Mark, Bob." Wade said, "I believe Mark is familiar with the simple point and click mechanic."

Mark was both nervous and flattered, nervous that he was given the task of ensuring the group's safe journey to Felix's office and flattered that they trust him enough to give him that task.

"After all, he's the self-proclaimed King of FNAF." Wade added.

"Excuse me," Mark interrupted, his ego most probably taking over now, "That's now how you say it, it's pronounced as 'The KING! Of FIVENIGHTSATFREDDY'S!"

"Excuse me," Mark interrupted, his ego most probably taking over now, "That's now how you say it, it's pronounced as 'The KING! Of FIVENIGHTSATFREDDY'S!"   
"Yeah, sure." Tyler replied, having a resting bitch face, "Let's get on with it, shall we?"

"Right." Mark agreed.

"Take this." Bob handed Mark the tablet.

Mark gladly took the gadget and began shuffling through the different cameras.

"Let's move, people." Tyler opened the door by a crack so he'd be able to see what was outside. "C'mon."

The rest followed him out the room, all of them having their senses on high alert, Bob and Wade covering the left and right respectively, and Mark trailing close behind, his gun and tablet in his hands. It was difficult navigating through the dark corridor, as the red alarm lights flashed.

"Okay," Mark took a deep breath, "I last saw them at the end of the second floor west wing."

"That's not far from here." Tyler gasped.

As if right on cue, a man appeared at the other end of the hall armed with an automatic machine gun.

"GET DOWN!" Tyler yelled.

All four ducked moments before the man opened fire at them. The sound of gunshots rang through their ears.

"GET BACK!" He shoved Mark and the others back around the corner.

"Mark!" Wade yelled, "Trigger the hidden door! Seal him off!"

The YouTuber quickly switched to the exact video feed of the spot they were in, seeing themselves hiding in the corner while the intruder continued to shower the place with bullets. Just underneath his right thumb was a button with big bold letters saying:

HIDDEN DOOR

Mark quickly tapped on it, and watched the video as a steel door slid out of the wall near the middle of the path and blocked it, sealing the man on the other side.

"We go this way!" Bob said, leading them to a different path.

From the distance, Mark saw the corridor go two different directions: one heading straight while the other going left. He quickly tuned to another video, monitoring the left hallway they were approaching. And there he saw another man attempting to intercept them.

"STOP!" Mark bellowed, enabling another barrier to block the man. "Go straight!"

"Straight it is, then!" Tyler said, not slowing his pace.

"How many minutes left?"

"A minute and twenty eight!" Tyler replied right after glancing at his watch.

"There's a couple of them coming our way!"

"We're gonna have to fight through them!"

As soon as they had emerged from the corner, bullets started flying all over the place. They fought back, firing blindly at the group of men.

"You guys find another way, Wade and I will handle it from here." Bob said, "Go! You're running out of time!"

"C'mon, Tyler! I have a plan." Mark pulled on his friend's shirt, "We go back to the first hall."

Tyler followed Mark as they retraced their steps, ending up back where they started, the spot where they had trapped the first man on the other side. They approached the sealed hall and was startled by gunshots from the other side.

"The first guy is still trying to fight his way in," Mark referred to the video that had the man trying to shoot through the steel wall. Then he picked a different area, "and this corridor, labeled Corridor B is right beside where we are now."

"Yeah?" Tyler raised an eyebrow, unsure of what Mark was planning.

"This particular hall can lead us to Felix faster." He pertained to the passageway they were currently standing in now, "If I could play an audio or something to lure him to corridor B, I can seal him there and we can pass through."

Tyler realized that it was the best shot they had and just nodded in agreement.

Mark accessed more controls on the program, going through countless settings and preferences. He finally came across a toggle that had the label:

TURN ON P.A. SYSTEM MIC

"Here!" He switched it on, then selected corridor B on the display before speaking at the tablet's built in microphone, "Over here, guys! We can get to Felix faster!"

Mark immediately switched it off and watched as the man on the other side stop going berserk at the door and follow where the sound was coming from.

"The lab rat took the bait!" Mark said in excitement, enabling the hidden panel that sealed the unsuspecting goon again then opening the one in front of them.

"You're a genius, Mark!" Tyler pat his friend's shoulder.

"I guess three years of playing FNAF paid off." Mark smirked, "Let's go."

The pair dashed through the straight hall, eventually stopping when they were met by a corner that split into two, one going to the left and one going to the right.

"We go left." Tyler said, but Mark was able to pull Tyler back.

"Wait a sec." Mark said, flipping over the screen for Tyler to see: two armed men were coming his way. He closed the path, "Right."

"We have less than a minute left." The taller of the two warned.

"Let's make a run for it. Last one to Felix's office gets to buy the winner a cake." Mark sprinted away from his friend, laughing loudly just as the latter realized the impromptu bet.

"Fucker!" Tyler ran.

_________

Mark arrived at Felix's office and shoved the door open, catching a glimpse of the fifth goon holding the boss hostage. He had an arm around K's neck while his other hand pointed a gun to his temple. Mark could not see the intruder's face, as he was wearing a ski mask that only showed bright blue eyes.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" The man yelled.

"Let him go!" Mark said, gun raised and finger on the trigger.

"Why should I?"

"Because I can guarantee that you won't have a hand once you don't." The YouTuber growled, feeling his palms moist with sweat.

"Try me."

"Okay." Mark pulled the trigger.

In a split second the hand holding the gun was blasted off, and that resulted in him releasing Felix.

"OH GOD! MY ARM!" The intruder wailed in pain, picking up the severed hand with both of his hands and raised it up yelling, "WHYYYY?!"

"Wait, what?" Mark shook his head, then ran over to the defeated goon and pulled off his mask, revealing a pale skinned man having short brown hair, freckles, bright blue eyes, crooked nose, and thick stubble, "Ian Hecox?!"

Ian flashed a smile, waving the fake rubber hand around, "Ta-da?"

"Wha-" Mark was confused, "I-I don't-"

He was interrupted when Felix squeezed his shoulder.

"Congratulations, Agent Bumbum. You're ready."


	11. The First Mission

"I-I don't understand." Mark said, eyes wide as he stepped back from Ian.

"It's all a test, Mark." Felix chuckled, "I wanted to know if you already have what it takes to be a super spy. And based on the results, you're doing pretty well for a newbie."

Mark appeared to be perplexed, but deep inside he was screaming with joy.

"Congratulations, Agent Bumbum." Tyler's voice came from behind, he had just entered the room and joined the three.

"Wha-" Mark glanced at Tyler, "You're in it too?!"

"Yeah... kinda, since I was expecting the test to be later rather than sooner." Tyler shrugged, breathing out of his nostrils.

"So that's that." K said, "You're ready for your first mission."

"M-My f-first mission?" Mark twitched, feeling fear and excitement mixing up inside him.

"Yeah, you're ready to chase down Darkiplier."

"R-Really?"

"Yes." Felix chuckled.

"I bet you'll do well, man." Ian interrupted, squeezing Mark's shoulder, "We thought we had him back in Sacramento last year, but no, that dickbiscuit keeps on coming back."

"Really?" Mark raised an eyebrow.

"He nearly destroyed the town after that stunt." He chortled, "Nearly killed Anthony, even."

Mark gulped. He realized how deep of a shit he had gotten himself into. He never knew Dark was capable of doing such act.

"This might be some cliched, overplayed plot but," Felix breathed, "You're our only hope, Mark. Only you can outsmart Dark, like how you've outsmarted the 'thugs'."

Mark glanced at Ian and Felix, unsure of what to reply as the fear of the consequences should he fail his first mission. They were talking about saving the world, so Mark had every right to be worried.

"I'll come with you, man." Tyler said, "I got your back."

He did not know whether Tyler's reassurance encouraged or terrified him, he was way past the point of no return. He could not let all his three weeks worth of training be for nothing, and he could not let the people of Y.A.S.S. down.

"Alright." Mark nodded, agreeing even though his mind still hasn't made a clear decision.

"Okay, I believe it's off to Brighton." Felix announced, "Bob, Wade, will you guys please assist Mark in using the necessary tools he might need for this mission and book us a flight to Brighton?" He pressed on the radio on his desk.

"Right away, K." Wade's voice came from the speakers.

"You and Tyler will take the earliest flight to Brighton to meet up with Crank. I'll meet you there." Felix said.

"Can I take Chica with me?" Mark asked, "I can't leave her behind here, there'll be no one to look after her."

"Of course." The boss nodded.

"After all, she saved me back at my house." He adjusted his glasses, "Thanks, K."

"Don't mention it."

A few minutes later, Bob and Wade came to the office and surrounded Mark,"Let's go, Agent Bumbum." Wade said, "We've already packed your stuff."

Mark still cringed at his agent name as he followed the two out.

The three got out of the room along with Ian, leaving Tyler and Felix alone. Tyler turned around to face Felix, looking confused.

"You're really gonna let him go without proper training?" Tyler asked.

"I made a judgment call, Tyler. We've discussed this before, haven't we? And you yourself told Mark to believe in himself."

"I know, but... He failed his Physical Examination. He kept on slamming into that wall."

"But he excelled in the other fields." Felix replied, "It isn't always brawn. And brains beat brawn all the time, Mark has all the brains he needs to get through this."

_________

Mark stared outside the window deep in thought, seeing nothing but the calm blue sea down below. He could hear the muffled sounds of jet engines outside as the flight attendant chatted with the other passengers inside the cabin.

"Hey, Mark." Tyler said, who was sitting next to him, "Is there something wrong?"

He turned to face his friend, meeting his gaze. Mark cracked a smile and shook his head, "Nothing."

"Come on, I'm not used to you looking all silent and shit." Tyler sighed, "Tell me what's wrong." 

"How do you handle the pressure of being a spy?"

Tyler shifted on his seat to face Mark, clearing his throat as he did so, "Honestly, I have no clue how I've survived this far. Maybe keeping a cool head helped since I've arrested countless bad guys, way before you came along... until Darkiplier entered the scene."

"What makes Darkiplier different?"

"He's not the typical evil genius who lets his henchmen do the work for him, he tends to spearhead his dastardly deeds."

"I figured." Mark then kept on listening.

"He's a very skilled fighter, able to bring down five agents in a single brawl with his skills. Recently, Ethan came across him and barely escaped with his life.

We've sent countless people after him, sure he got caught once, but he only stayed in prison for a month before escaping."

"What makes you sure I can do it?" He asked, "That I can take down Darkiplier?"

"Aww, come on, dude, you and Dark are technically the same person, the only difference is he still had that bright red hair while you don't. Which is why we need you, Mark. Because you know how he moves, how he thinks."

Mark broke from Tyler's gaze, he was now staring into blank space.

"You were brought in for a reason, you know Dark more than we do. You and Warfstache were his childhood friend."

Mark sunk in his seat, those words stung his heart. He balled his fists, "Does Felix know?"

"Yes. We do."

Mark nodded, "Damien was always the black sheep of the three of us. I sensed darkness in him as we grew up, he despised people, often creating fights with the other students at our school. What severed our friendship was him dating my high school ex-girlfriend behind my back."

"I'm sorry, Mark. I know it's hard for you to do this-"

"But I'm gonna do it, I will catch Darkiplier. He's already ruined my life and Will's, I can't let Dark ruin other people's lives." Mark said, exhaling, looking out of the window and still seeing nothing but the seemingly endless Atlantic Ocean and the horizon.

"I was preparing a long speech to comfort you but I'll take that response." Tyler shrugged.

"Are there any rules?" Mark looked back at his friend, "Of being a spy?"

"Okay, the first rule of being spy is to never tell that you are one to the people you know. I'm sure you're well aware of that. Especially in your case, Mark. If Dark finds out that you're working for us he'll attack you where it hurts the most."

"In the balls?"

"Wha-NO! What I mean is that he'll beat you by hurting your loved ones. Your friends, your family..."

"Amy." Mark finished.

"Yeah, Amy."

"Oh dear." He gasped. "I've been trying to call Amy a lot the past few days and she hasn't answered any of my calls."

Tyler's eyes grew wide, his jaw dropped.

"We'll call her once we get off this plane." He assured, looking out the window and seeing the famous Brighton Pier down below.

__________

The second Mark got off the plane, he dug out his phone and dialed for his girlfriend. His heart raced, his foot tapped, anxiously waiting for Amy's answer.

"I'll get Chica from her kennel." Tyler said, heading to the luggage counter.

"C'mon, babe. Pick up." He bit his lip, hearing the dial tone.

"Hello?" Someone answered, Mark immediately knew it was Amy.

"Oh thank God!" Mark sighed, looking all giddy when he heard his girlfriend's voice.

"Mark?" She replied, her voice always soothing to him, "Mark! Thank God you called!"

"Wh-what's wrong, babe?" The smile on the YouTuber's face disappeared. "And why haven't you picked up my calls?"

"I tried so many times to call you too. I wanted to tell you that I won't be home for two more weeks."

His eyes widened, "What? Why?!"

Tyler returned, now accompanied by Chica who was tethered to him with a leash. "What's going on, man?" He asked, Mark just responded with a wait gesture.

"New York's been struck by a strong blizzard. I was snowbound with my family for the past three weeks, it's only now that we were free and had proper reception. All flights in and out of NY are delayed until further notice." Amy explained.

"Oh... good." Mark sighed in relief.

"What did you say?" Amy asked, sounding surprised.

"Uh, I mean, good that you're safe, not that I want you to be stranded, but I'm thankful that you're not kidnapped or held against your will somewhere."

Tyler slapped Mark's arm, "Dude, too much!" He whispered through gritted teeth.

Mark made an inaudible gasp. His tongue was a bit too slippery.

"What made you say that?" His girlfriend said, "Are you involved in something that you're not telling me?"

"Uh... uh..." He tugged on his collar, "So how was your time with your family?"

"I told you we were snowbound. Please don't change the conversation." She lowered her voice, "Mark... are you hiding something from me?"

He froze for a few seconds. Then he covered the microphone on his phone.

"What do I say now, Tyler?" Mark whimpered, "You have no idea what happens when Amy's angry, she suddenly morphs into a fire breathing dragon."

The taller of the two shook his head, "Use your head, Mark."

The YouTuber faced the wall, prepping to bang his head against it, "I should knock myself out then?"

"You've gotta be joking." His friend rolled his eyes.

"Mark Edward Fischbach, I'm talking to you!" Her voice loud enough for Tyler to hear from the phone's earpiece.

Mark looked down at Chica, who was sitting on the floor looking up at him with her adorable eyes.

"Chica! Give me back my phone!" Mark screamed, forcing the phone between the golden retriever's jaws, "CHICA!" He repeated.

Chica however, kept it clamped in her mouth as she motionlessly sat there watching her master freak out like a crazy person. Tyler tried his best not to laugh.

Mark retrieved the dog slobber covered phone and put it on speaker, opting not to put it anywhere near his face.

"Sorry about that, babe. Chica's been moody today."

The dog tilted her head and let out a soft whimper.

"Did you forget to feed her again?" Amy asked, and to Mark's relief, she bought it.

"I suppose so, heh." Mark chuckled, "Anyway, please be careful. I love you so much. I'll see you in two weeks. And please stay away from men in black suits."

"S-sure thing?" She replied, "Bye, I love you too."

"Bye." Mark hung up. He let out a loud sigh, making the people around them turn his head at them. "I'm so good at making alibis." He said, bathing in his somewhat victory.

"Let's go, we have to meet up with Agent Crank at the town park."

_________

They arrived past noon at the park, and very few people were there out in the open. They were either the homeless or the caretakers who brushed off the snow to maintain the beauty of the park. Midday in Brighton was not cold compared to morning and nighttime, and the layer of snow were thinner.

The two men were wearing a thin black jacket over their casual clothes. Mark was wearing his favorite green Reptar shirt that had his sleeves cut off, and Tyler had a plain dark blue shirt under his jacket.

"Where is he?" Tyler said, eyes squinted from the heat shining down on them. He scanned the park.

"What's he wearing?" Mark said, scanning the area. "You see Ethan, girl?" He asked Chica, who was restless in her place, her movement limited by her leash.

"He says he's in a disguise." Tyler recounted, "He's carrying a box with him."

Then, as if right on cue, Mark spotted a man wearing navy blue mailman's uniform of average height, pale white skin, and slim frame sitting on the bench opposite them. Underneath his left arm was a small box, he was using it as an arm rest.

"I think I see him." The YouTuber blurted out, "He fits the description you gave me."

"Approach with caution." His friend instructed, "Somewhat inconspicuous."

"You got it." Mark handed Chica's leash to Tyler then dove behind one of the benches, humming a butchered Mission: Impossible tune as he ran from his current hiding spot to the trash bin.

"Are you kidding me?" Tyler rolled his eyes, and Chica turned her head away from the scene.

"What? You said 'approach with caution', right?" Mark looked over his shoulder at Tyler, raising an eyebrow.

"But not this type of approach." He breathed, "What I mean is to get your guns ready."

"Oh, alright." Mark pulled out his custom made mustache gun from a holster under his jacket and cocked it before putting it back. He took a glance at their target.

Only to find him staring back at them.

"Oh shit, I think we're compromised." Tyler said.

The mailman ran off, taking the box with him.

"He's running away!"

Mark removed his jacket exposing his well-defined arms. "I'm going after him!" He said before running after the target.


	12. A Head of the Situtation

Mark sprinted after the man, his legs carrying him as fast as they could. To his surprise, he was lasting longer than he expected, being able to keep up with the skinny and somewhat athletic Ethan.

They ran through the park, with Mark hot on Ethan's heels, sprinting through trimmed grass and onto cemented pavements. The two ended up in a narrow path that had ledges on both sides. Mark watched as Ethan jump up onto the right ledge then hastily leap onto the left.

Mark cracked a smile, he did not bother to follow Ethan upon realizing that it was no use as the path in front of him leading to the same endpoint Ethan was heading to, he just ran after him.

They were now in an open field, Ethan then performed a summersault, further exaggerating his attempts to escape Mark.

Mark followed suit, but he ended up rolling on the ground like a potato as he still hasn't learned how to do a summersault. He stumbled back to his feet and pushed forward, seeing a pond at the end.

His jaw dropped when he witnessed Ethan sprint on the surface of the water, his feet not even sinking an inch into the supposedly waist-deep pond.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Mark exclaimed.

"Anti-gravity boots!" Tyler radioed in, "Use your watch to activate yours!"

The newbie agent fumbled through his wristwatch, quickly finding the toggle that was for the boots he was wearing. He bit his lip as he pressed the button, quickly approaching the edge of the pond and noticing that Ethan had already made it across.

"Here goes..." Mark closed his eyes the second his feet left the edge.

Mark heard soft splashes on the water, he looked down and saw his feet just touching the water while he walked straight, eventually leaping onto the gutter and into dry land.

Mark heard soft splashes on the water, he looked down and saw his feet just touching the water while he walked straight, eventually leaping onto the gutter and into dry land  
They ended up on the grassy lawn once again,

"I'm circling around, Mark!" Tyler said.

"I think I almost got him!" He replied, seeing Ethan go around a fountain clockwise.

He decided to go counterclockwise, finally meeting Ethan on one end.

The man jumped the second he saw Mark then immediately hurled a fist at him. Mark on the other hand, ducked, feeling the gust of wind from the fist over his head. He held both his forearms in front of his face, much like what a boxer would do to block the punches thrown at him. This was proven effective, as Ethan threw a right hook and it was parried.

Mark retaliated, crouching down and swinging a leg at Ethan's own legs. But the latter quickly read his move as he jumped over the leg.

The YouTuber performed an uppercut, hitting Ethan in the belly. The man groaned, but then brought down the box he was carrying at Mark's head.

The impact on Mark's head rattled his brain, and the blow was powerful enough to disorient him. With a dazed Mark in front of him, Ethan used this chance to kick him away.

Mark was knocked off balance. He tumbled down to the ground.

This did not stop him however, Mark sprung back to his feet and pursued Ethan again.

"Wait! Ethan!" Mark yelled. "It's me! It's Mark!"

The blue haired man stopped running, much to Mark's surprise. He turned around and aimed a gun at the YouTuber's forehead.

"How do I know you're not Dark in disguise?"

Mark stopped in his tracks, staring into the barrel of the pistol, "I-"

"DON'T SHOOT!" Tyler yelled when suddenly, Chica emerged from behind the tree, tackling Ethan to the ground. The dog barked a few times then licked Ethan's face.

"Wh-Chica?!" Ethan mumbled, turning his head away from the slobbery tongue that continued to lick him, "Alright! Alright! It's the real Mark! Stop it!" He burst into laughter, gently pushing the retriever off of him.

Tyler arrived at the scene out of breath, "Jesus, Chica runs faster than me." He exhaled, "Why did you run away, Crank?"

Ethan sat up, running his hand through the dog's thick yellow gold fur, "I'd been constantly running away from Darkiplier ever since I took that flash drive from our contact. I thought this was another attempt."

"What's that you're holding?" Tyler asked, pointing to the still-sealed, but partially beaten up box in the agent's hands.

"This is what those coordinates led to, it wasn't the location to Warfstache himself."

"And you haven't opened it yet?" Mark interjected.

"I can't." He replied, "It's addressed to you, Mark."

"Me?"

"Yeah, are you deaf? I just said that." Ethan handed the box to Mark.

"We gotta get this to Felix."

_________

The three men went up to the porch of a house, stopping in front of a wooden white door. Tyler pressed the doorbell on the wall to his right. They stood there motionless, waiting for someone to answer. Moments later, they heard footsteps approaching the door.

A woman in her mid to late twenties greeted them, flashing them as smile as soon as she saw the three agents outside. She had long brown hair extending down to her waist, all dressed up in simple but stylish casual clothing.

"Cutiepie!" Tyler said.

"Hey, Apocalypto!" She greeted, giving the tallest man a hug, "Hey, Crank!" She then moved to Ethan. Lastly, she stopped to look at Mark, "So this must be Agent Bumbum."

Mark clenched his teeth in his mouth as he was pulled in for a warm embrace.

"Heya, nice to see you again!" Mark muttered.

"You too." Marzia chuckled.

"Hey, uh..." Ethan interrupted, "Is K in there? He told us to meet him here in your house."

Marzia stepped back inside, "Yes, he's in here. And apparently we have a guest over."

"'Guest'?" The three said together.

"Just a jolly, green-haired leprechaun paying a visit." She chortled, letting the door open wide giving them a full view of their living room. The place was of average size, but was well enough decorated with various paintings and awards received by Felix from YouTube, from the small framed silver play button to the massive Pewdiepie-themed ruby sculpture.

Two dogs, specifically pugs, charged at the guests.

"Maya!" Tyler greeted, going to his knees to pet the one-eyed grey pug.

The second dog, the black one went past the humans and went directly to the golden retriever behind theml. Chica on the other hand, sprung back on her for legs and froze as Edgar made his way around her, sniffing her from head to tail before ending up pressing his nose on her behind.

Maya soon ran after Edgar, surrounding the somewhat terrified Chica.

"Come in! I don't want you three freezing your asses off out there." Marzia stepped inside, motioning for them to come with her.

"Can I ask a question?" Mark interrupted, stopping Ethan and Tyler in their tracks, "Why did you guys give me a shitty agent name? 'Agent Bumbum'? You gotta be kidding me."

Tyler narrowed his eyes, "What are you talking about?"

"You heard me, Tyler." Mark glared, "You could've gone with Agent Iplier, Spy-Iplier, Agent Markimoo."

"Uh... I think Felix is calling us." Ethan said, hurriedly stepped inside, "We better not make the boss wait."

"Ethan's right, Mark." Tyler avoided eye contact with Mark as he followed Ethan inside.

The YouTuber rolled his eyes, "Great, give the new guy a crappy agent name whereas they have awesome ones." He scoffed to himself as he went inside holding the box in his arms, "Maybe one day they'll base their agent names on our old eighth grade email accounts, and I'd be called Agent BoobyLover69." 

"You can let Chica play with the dogs, Mark. Felix told me you guys have an urgent matter to discuss." Marzia said.

Mark released Chica from her leash and let the big dog run around with the two smaller ones.

"He's in the living room." Marzia said.

They walked into the living room where they saw Felix sitting on the couch drinking hot chocolate with his guest: A pale skinned man of average built for his thin frame, long pointy nose, scruffy dark grey stubble, ocean blue eyes, but his most recognizable feature was his vibrant green hair.

"Jacksepticeye!" Mark exclaimed.

Seán McLoughlin turned his head and met eye contact with Mark. He cracked a smile, a smile so wide that it wrinkled his cheeks.

"Markiplier!" Seán stood up from the couch, went around it, then wrapped his arms around him. Mark in the other hand hugged back, "Great to see ya again, laddie!"

Mark chuckled, "It's great to see you too, man!"

"How are ya?"

Both men pat each other's backs, "I'm doing fine, I guess?" Mark replied, pulling away, "What brings you here to Brighton?"

"Ah, Signe and I are looking for a house around here. We've been planning to move out of Athlone and settle down here."

"Where it's closer to the boss, I suppose?" Mark smirked, "So you'll be nearby when they need your assistance in their missions." Mark said, exaggerating his wink.

Both Ethan's and Tyler's eyes widened then darted at Mark.

"Boss?" Seán repeated, "I thought I was the boss?" He then chuckled, "Is there something in your eye?"

"Oh you know what I mean, Y.A.S.S.?" Mark winked again.

"Uhh... what?" Seán looked away from Mark's creepy wink.

Mark looked over Seán's shoulder and saw Felix shaking his head violently, a panicked look on his face, his hand moving over his neck as a gesture to try and cut him off. 

He was mouthing, "He doesn't know!"

Mark shrunk in awkwardness once he got the message.

"Oh, what I mean is that - yes, I've got something in my eye." Mark mumbled, "A pesky bee ran into it earlier."

On the coffee table near Felix, Mark spotted a pitcher of water. He immediately went for it and poured it over his eye, wincing at the pain the instance the liquid made contact. Felix, Ethan, and Tyler buried their faces in their hands, sighing quietly.

"Ahh... much better." Mark lied, blinking out the droplets of water, and on the brink of crying, "I should've asked it if it likes jazz."

"Okay..." Sean said, glancing at his watch, "Oh, it's getting late, I need to get back to our hotel."

Felix shot up from his seat and escorted Sean to the door. "I am terribly sorry for that weird and somehow awkward reunion between you and Mark. I have no idea what came to him."

"Nah, I don't mind that goofball. He's always been like that." Sean laughed as he walked towards the door. "Thanks for having me over, Felix."

He gave Felix a goodbye hug.

"Thank you for swinging by." The Swedish YouTuber replied, pulling the door open for Seán.

"See ya again, guys!" Seán waved at the other three who were still in the living room.

"Bye, Jackieboy!" Mark waved.

With one last nod, Seán McLoughlin turned around and left, heading out into the street and hailing a cab.

Felix shut the door quickly and glared at Mark, his ears red and almost fuming with anger, anger that could almost be felt by the people in the place.

"What the fuck was that, Mark?!" Tyler scolded.

"What? I thought he was in on the whole spy bullshit!" Mark sat on the couch, still keeping his eye shut.

"That was close." Ethan sighed, "I don't know if I should praise Mark for his quick thinking in changing the subject or be mad at him for almost spilling the beans on Jack."

"I thought he already knows!" Mark said in his defense.

"Well, he doesn't." Felix joined in, "We haven't recruited him yet."

"What are you trying to do? Set him up for the sequel or something?"

"Whatever! And will you please work on your wink?! You look like a guy having a seizure." Felix cut him off, "Have you deciphered where Warfstache is now?"

"Well, I've decoded the coordinates in that flash drive, but it led me to a box." Ethan said, pointing to the mailing box on the table.

"A box?" Felix turned his head at the object.

"Yes. A box." Mark scoffed, feeling cheated, "Ethan nearly got killed by Dark and his men countless times just for a box." He leaned over and placed the box on his lap, "What makes this piece of junk special?"

He opened the lid to reveal a severed head of a man with bright pink mustache.

"HOLY FUCK!" Mark shrieked along with the other three, shoving the box away from him and up the air, falling on the floor with a loud thud  
"HOLY FUCK!" Mark shrieked along with the other three, shoving the box away from him and up the air, falling on the floor with a loud thud. The head rolled out of the container and on the floor as a loud cackle came from it.

"What the-?" Mark was the first to approach the disembodied head.

"GOTCHA!" The man said, his voice coming from the neck stump, "I gotta praise the special effects dude who made this hyper-realistic head."

"He sounds familiar," Tyler said, "Is that-?"

"William." Mark said, picking up the head.

"It's Wilford Warfstache to you, Mark Fischbach." Wilford replied, "D'you like the fake head?"

"It's sick, like your humor." Mark said, "What's this about?"

"It's a cover up, to trick Dark if he ever gets this box so he'll assume I'm dead." He replied, "But luckily your friend Ethan found it first."

"So, you do have the ruby?" Felix asked, "Because there's no way for you to take extreme measures to hide from us."

"Of course." Wilford assured, "I have it locked up someplace safe."

"We need to get that ruby out of Dark's grasp." Felix said, "He's on a widespread hunt for you, Warfstache."

"He won't find me, Felix. I can assure you."

"He found Mark." Tyler said, "It's not impossible for him to find you."

"Trust you me, he won't." Warfstache boasted.

"I need to talk to you, Will. Please." Mark pleaded, "We need to talk about Damien."

There was a slight pause.

"Will?" Mark called.

"Fine."

"Hey, Warfstache?" Ethan cut in, "Can I keep the head?"

The three men all had their eyes on the blue-haired man.

"What for?" Mark raised an eyebrow.

"For research purposes, heh."


	13. Wilford "Motherloving" Warfstache

Mark was in total darkness, caused by a thick bag placed on his head. He exhaled, blowing the cloth away from is face as he listened to his surroundings. He could only hear the hum of an engine and feel the cold air coming from the car's AC unit.

He shifted in his seat eventually realizing that he was sitting in between two people, cramped in the back of the vehicle. He could not move his hands, they were tied together with a tie wrap behind his back.

"Are we there yet?" He heard a familiar voice say, coming from his left side. It was Tyler.

"We'll get there when we get there." A man said, who Mark does not recognize.

"You said it'll only take a few minutes!" Ethan, who was on Mark's right, whined.

"Well, traffic's a bitch right now, so stop complaining or I'll dump you three in the ocean with concrete boots."

The three did not utter a single word after that.

A few more minutes passed, all three men were growing impatient.

"Remind me why again are we doing this?" Ethan said, his words slightly muffled by the bag.

"That's what Wilford told us to do." Mark replied, "We have to do what he says in exchange for something, right?"

"Of course." Ethan sighed.

They felt the vehicle screech into a halt. Mark heard the handbrake being pulled followed by the door opening.

"We're here." The man said.

Tyler yelped, "Ow! Take it easy! I'm not gonna put up a fight!"

"Sorry, Scheid, this is the standard protocol." The man replied.

Mark felt a hand grab on his shoulder and scrunch his shirt. He was yanked out of the vehicle and pushed outside. For the first time, he could feel his legs again after sitting in that cramped space for hours.

"I thought I was gonna be sitting there all day!" Mark stretched his thighs and shook off the numb sensation.

He was grabbed by the collar on the back of his neck, "Alright, you three, start walking."

He did as he was told, he started walking, feeling gravel under his feet shift as he went forward. Soon enough, his shoes were clattering on an even marble floor.

"Stop." The driver said.

The three men heard the door creak open, sounding as if it was top heavy.

"Keep walking." The man instructed, "Wait, Ma-!"

Mark's face slammed into a what felt like a concrete wall. The YouTuber backed away, his temples throbbing and pain growing around his nose.

"You said we should keep walking!" Mark retorted.

"You always were the clumsy one." The man replied.

Mark stopped in his tracks, "Wait, who are you?"

His hands were suddenly freed.

"Take off the bag and you'll see." The man suddenly changed his tone, from a flat, emotionless one, to a lavish, butchered English accent.

Mark hurriedly lifted the sack from his head and took a gasp of fresh air.

He was finally able to see his surroundings: he saw the walls filled with colorful paintings and preserved heads of wild animals. There was an elegant chandelier handing from the ceiling with more than a hundred pieces of glass intricately handing from the main stem forming a pattern that resembled a mustache. He could smell burning wood coming from the nearby fireplace and the aroma of baked goods from the kitchen.

"Welcome to my humble abode, all you configurations of beings." The man said.

In front of them was a man of similar in facial features and built to Mark: slender but muscular. He was wearing a red and white striped coat over a yellow button down shirt tucked in a pair of cream pants, the bottom ends of which were inside dark brown army boots. The most recognizable trait was a bright pink mustache on the his face.

"Wilford." Mark said flatly. But inside he was more than ecstatic to reunite with an old friend, he just decided to put on a calm and collected attitude.

"Mark." Wilford took of his coat that exposed his black suspenders hanging on his shoulders. "I'm sorry about the dumb 'bag over the head' trope, gentlemen, but I had to do it so you won't know where we exactly are."

Mark looked at Ethan and Tyler who were standing beside him.

"Please, have a seat, gentlemen." Wilford gestured to the couch.

The agents sat down as Will sat on a lone chair facing them, crossing his legs in the most lavish manner as possible.

"Would you like something to eat?" Wilford asked, "Host, can you bring our guests some-?"

"OW! The people in the living room turn to the kitchen upon hearing The Host's anguished yelp as the latter had burned his fingers."

A man appeared by the doorway to the kitchen. He had his dark hair slicked back, eyes covered with a dirty piece of cloth.

"He steps out of the kitchen carrying a tray with cookies and warm milk, hurriedly walking to the group as his burnt finger begins to swell."

The guests kept their eyes fixated on The Host.

"The Host places the tray on the table and turns his back before running back to the kitchen screaming his lungs out. AAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"Please, eat, it's made by-"

They were interrupted by an explosion from the kitchen, and it was immediately filled with black smoke.

"The explosion is caused by Chef Iplier as he never mastered the proper way of turning on the stove." The Host continued.

A man came out from the rising smoke, wearing a burnt apron and chef's hat. He was limping slowly.

"You may wanna consider ordering diner." Chef Iplier mumbled, before collapsing to the ground.

"I think this will do, thanks." Tyler picked up a glass of milk and a cookie.

"So, the Markiplier and his friends are in my house to ask me for the ruby, eh?" Wilford had a smug look on his face.

"Yes." Mark answered.

"Now tell me, Mark, if I may call you that. What good will it do to you when I do give the ruby to you?" He kept a firm posture in his seat as if he was hosting a talk show.

"So we can stop Darkiplier from getting to it."

"What makes you so sure that this so-called Darkiplier will find the MacGuffin?" He stood up and started pacing around the place.

"He found me, I told you that before, it's not long before he finds you."

Warfstache did not reply.

"What's Darkiplier's point in going through all of this?" Ethan suddenly asked, taking a sip of his milk, "I mean, what's his motive?"

"Damien is indeed the naughty one," Wilford turned his back on them and leaned on the bookcase, looking at the burning wood in the fireplace, "He was very mischievous when we were young, he vandalized the walls at school, flirted with countless girls at school then never calling them back, swapping my meds with viagra, never flushing after taking a dump, left the toilet seat open... really sick shit."

"I remember that." Mark chuckled.

"As we grew, he got into more trouble, he ruined mine and Mark's life." He met Mark's gaze that conveyed anger and sadness. "He grew distant to Mark but maintained a close relationship with me. He considers Mark as the goody two shoes doofus who always gets in the way."

Mark was able to fully connect the dots, he now knew why he was pulled into this mess. 

"That being said, he told me his evil plan."

"What scheme?" Tyler said.

"Like I said, Damien always hated people." Will said.

"Why?"

"He says people have become too evil, war over there, violence over here. He told me he wanted to hit the reset button, and by reset button, he meant by destroying the world." Wilford rubbed the bridge of his nose, "He views himself as the savior of mankind."

"He thinks he's God?"

"In some ways, yes. But behind that main reason is a more evil one."

"What's that?"

"He totally ripped off the Joker from the Dark Knight, but he claimed he just wanted to watch the world burn, watching us suffer from his wrath."

"This is the reason why we have to get that ruby away from him." Tyler said.

"You have to help us, Will." Mark stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, I can't risk giving the ruby to anyone. It's too dangerous." Wilford exhaled.

"I promise you it'll be in safe hands."

"I don't think so. Well, thank you, Markiplier," Wilford applauded, "-for the visit to my house. You may go now."

"No wait!" Mark took a step closer.

Wilford lifted up his pant leg and unsheathed a small dagger, "Do you want to get stabbed again?" He brought the weapon to Mark's belly, "I do believe you're starting to like it."

"Whoa!" Mark flinched and stepped back.

"This is the end of our conversation, Fischbach. Goodbye." Wilford turned around and headed upstairs.

"Wilford!" Mark chased after him.

"Mark!" Tyler said.

"Stay here, I'm gonna talk to him." The YouTuber stopped his friend from going after him.

When he reached the second floor, there was a long corridor to his right, each side having three doors leading to different rooms in the house. He could have sworn he saw the farthest left door had recently closed.

Mark ran to the door and knocked,"Wilford. Let me in."

"Go away, Markiplier." He replied.

"Can we just talk?"

"We already did."

"Just you and me." Mark said, switching off his earpiece and knocking again, "Please let me in."

Warfstache yanked open the door and faced Mark, their noses were almost touching.

"How can you be so sure with that, Markimoo?" Will replied, "How can you be so sure that Damien will stop once you have the ruby?"

Wilford had a point.

"It's better for it to stay hidden." Warfstache cleared his throat, "What if it falls into the wrong hands?"

"It won't." Mark said, "Because I won't let it."

"You?" Will scoffed.

"Yes, me, Agent Bumbum."

Wilford burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face.

"Yeah I know, it's a shitty name." Mark rolled his eyes.

"I don't know." He shook his head and walked inside his room with Mark trailing after him.

"We have to foil Damien's plan. And to do that, we have to work together. Help me on this, please."

"You were always the charming one, Mark, no wonder your fans love you." Warfstache turned around, meeting Mark's gaze, sighing, "It's in my warehouse near Brighton Pier," He whispered, "You have to get it before he does."

There was a knock on the door. Both men turned their heads to it.

"Who is it?" Wilford asked.

"It's Doctor Iplier." The man said.

"This is not good." Will approached the door and turned the knob.

"Why is that?" Mark asked.

"You'll see." The mustached man opened the door, "Yes, doctor?"

"Ah, yes." The doctor looked at his clipboard then back at the two men, "I'm sorry to tell you that Darkiplier found us."

"HE WHAT?!"

Just then, a baton came down on the Doctor's head, knocking him out.

The two backed away into the room as a red haired man appeared by the doorway sporting a sinister grin on his face.

"We are fucked." Wilford mumbled.

"Hello, Wilford. I see you've been hiding from me." Darkiplier stepped inside the room. He then stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of Mark, his eyes widened.

"Oh hi Mark."

"Dark." Mark mumbled, staring back into Dark's eyes.

"Huh, didn't realize that Felix will eventually pit us against each other." He rubbed his beard.

It was like a long-awaited reunion of the three friends. The three men stood there exchanging looks.

"I knew you'd betray me, Will. And I know you have the ruby." Dark said, pulling out his gun at Wilford, "Give it to me."

"This doesn't have to be this way, Damien." Mark blurted out.

Dark shifted his attention to Mark, he pointed his gun at the agent, "Don't you ever fucking call me by that name!"

"Please, hear me out," Mark took out his own gun. But instead of aiming at Dark, he gently placed it on the ground, "I don't wanna fight you."

"You always were the cinnamon roll of us three. You think your kindness will change the people?"

Mark could not think of a reply.

"That's what I thought," Dark chortled.

Mark kept a firm voice, "You don't have to do this."

"Why not?!" Damien retorted, tightening his grip on his gun, "This world is fucked up, Mark. And I'm the only one who can save it!"

"Not by eradicating the human race!" Mark raised his hands back up as Dark took a step closer, gun aimed at Mark's chest.

"As of right now, this is the only way." Dark growled, his finger hovering over the trigger, "and I'll silence anyone who gets in my way. Even you."

"Dark..." Wilford gasped, "Don't you dare..."

"Goodbye, Mark."


	14. Escape from the Dark(iplier)

"DARK NO!" Wilford grabbed the barrel of Dark's gun and pointed it up, just as the latter had pulled the trigger shooting a bullet at the ceiling. Will shoved Dark against the wall as both men struggled to grab hold of the gun.

"STAY THE FUCK OUTTA THIS, WILFORD!" Damien bellowed.

"MARK, GO!" Wilford shrieked, as more shots left the gun's barrel, "GO NOW! I'LL HOLD HIM OFF!"

Dark pushed Wilford off of him and slammed him against the bookcase causing the books on it to fall down on the floor. Dark was desperately fighting his way to get to Mark, but Will wouldn't let him.

"Let me go, Will!" Dark exclaimed, his face inches from his friend, "I don't wanna hurt you!"

Mark could not just leave Wilford alone knowing what Dark could do. Part of his mind told him to run while the other half desperately wanted to help. He then spotted Dark's baton and picked it up, about ready to attack.

The man pushed Dark, and both of them fell on the coffee table that collapsed underneath them, shattering the mugs and vases on it. The two of them rolled on the pieces of glass and china still resisting each other.

"MARK, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! GO!" Will was shouting at Mark who stood there tightly clutching the baton.

With much hesitation, Mark dashed outside the room and into the hallway while putting his earpiece back on. But he was greeted by Dark's men of at least five, all of them were blocking the hallway that led to the stairs.

"Well, well, if it isn't Markiplier." The same lead henchman with a blonde slicked back hair stepped forward.

"Nice to see you here." Mark replied, stepping back and feeling nothing but wall behind him, not even a window. His eyes quickly scanned the area, spotting a chandelier dangling above the men and staring at it for a while. He then shook his head, readied his baton, and took out a small fountain pen. "Here we go."

"Get him." The man said.

All of them charged at Mark, who in turn ran at them as well having his eyes fixated on the chandelier. He prepped his legs to jump, this had the men jumping up after him.

Only he didn't jump.

Instead, he bent backwards and slid under their legs as most of them were misled. He laid flat on the floor as he slid, then aiming his fountain pen at one of the legs of the goons, pressing a button that launched a small grappling hook that wrapped around the leg. He gave it a quick tug and the man lost his balance, the rest tripped over the line and fell.

Mark scrambled back to his feet and pulled out his gun, aiming for the base of the chandelier and shooting at it, causing it to fall and pin the four men underneath and showering them with pieces of broken glass.

But then a fist came crashing into his face. Mark's vision shook as he faced the lead henchman, who had armed himself with a baton. The man then kicked Mark in the gut then brought down his weapon on his back.

"FUCK!" Mark groaned as he fell.

"Not so tough now, huh?" He gloated, hitting Mark again in the back.

Mark gasped upon feeling a cold barrel touch the back of his head. He got to his knees and faced the man who pressed the pink mustache gun on his forehead.

"You're dead." He said.

The YouTuber spat out blood from his mouth. His heart racing as he watched the man's finger hovering on the trigger. He raised his hands in the air, before noticing his discarded baton near his knee. He gulped when the man tried to fire, only for the gun to click.

Mark seized this opportunity and snatched the gun with his left hand while the right picked up the wooden stick from the floor. He then swung the baton at the man's face, the blow powerful enough to break the stick in half and knock the man out cold.

"Thank you, Bob and Wade." Mark wiped the blood from his cheek and recovered the grappling pen from the other unconscious henchmen.

Three more goons went up the stairs and blocked Mark's way. He rolled his eyes and sighed, now feeling the pain around his face and back.

"Okay, c'mon." He taunted for them to come.

Before the three could even attack, Tyler appeared behind them and swung his umbrella at the first man, then elbowed the other two. He then hit all three with the umbrella across their faces.

"C'mon, let's go." Tyler said, "Ethan's waiting for us out back."

"Uh, guys?" Ethan's voice came from their earpiece, "We might have to change our plan a bit."

"What do you mean change?" Tyler asked.

"There are a lot of morons on the ground floor." He said, "you're gonna have to go out through the roof."

Mark looked over the balcony and saw Chef Iplier and The Host fighting the goons back.

"The Host uses his knife to stab the henchmen as Chef Iplier hurls his explosive cooking at them creating a ball of fire that blocks both exits of the house. They will now run up the stairs to join Mark and Tyler as the house begins to burn down." The host said.

A wall of fire rose in the air, it quickly engulfed the kitchen in flames, blocking out the goons that tried to enter through the back door. The same happened to the front door, just as the others stepped inside, Chef threw a burning pan of steak that exploded upon hitting the floor. The explosion caused the lights in the house to go off, leaving only the burning fire as the source of light that illuminated the mansion with a bright orange hue.

"Holy shit." Tyler mumbled.

"Go now." Chef Iplier said, reaching the top of the stairs with The Host, "You two need to get outta here. We'll find Wilford."

"Mark and Tyler will now use the roof access that will lead them to of course, the roof so they can evade the other incoming men. Meanwhile, the two of us will hold Dark's men back." The Host said.

"Alright. Be careful." Mark said, rubbing his aching face, "Those men do pack a punch."

"Yeah, we will."

"Let's go." Mark pulled Tyler's arm.

Tyler nodded and Mark ran off taking the lead, but not before stopping halfway. He turned around and met Chef Iplier's gaze.

"Uh... where's the roof access? Heh." Mark asked, his shoulders raised as a sign of awkwardness.

"The door to your left." The chef replied.

"Right, thanks." Mark cocked his gun and pushed through with Tyler trailing after him holding a flashlight.

The pair climbed up the stairs, the beam of the flashlight lighting only a small portion of their path. Mark led the way, gun in his right hand while his left supported the right all while holding his baton.

That was when the sound of the fire alarm blared and the emergency sprinklers activated, raining water inside the house.

Mark brushed the wet strands of his hair back as they reached the third level, the floor now slippery and partially flooded, every step they made created a splash. Just as they were about to go around the stairs to the roof, Tyler's small beam of light shone on pairs of leather shoes blocking their way.

"Where are you going?" A goon said.

They heard the sounds of guns cocking.

"Fuck." Mark said, blowing the water from his lips, "We're fucked."

"Oh no, we're not." Tyler tugged on, "Lights out!"

Tyler hurled the flashlight into one of the men's faces, the bulb shattering as it hit his face. They were immediately shrouded in darkness. And in a split second, Tyler pulled Mark behind him and opened his umbrella just in time to block the gunshots from the men's SMGs. The flashes from the guns illuminated the hallway as the bullets ricocheted off of the umbrella and hitting the walls.

It was not long until the magazines of their weapons had to be reloaded.

Mark and Tyler sprang into action, using only the streetlights outside to make out the shape of their opponents. Mark drew out his gun and charged at one of them, grabbing the SMG and shooting the man's hand making him lose grip of the weapon. The YouTuber then elbowed the man in the face knocking him down.

Tyler took out his own pistol. He then used the slippery floor and slid on it, his feet kicking the other two men in the shin. From underneath, he shot the hands of the goons. Mark finished the two off by giving them a right hook to the face.

Just then, two more came from the roof. Tyler reacted just in time by opening the umbrella and shielding them from the gunshots.

"Ethan!" Tyler pulled Mark away from the guys and into the hallway, "Come pick us up!"

"Where?!" Ethan's high pitched voice came from their earpiece.

"You'll see someone doing a Mary Poppins from the third floor."

"WHAT?!" Mark turned around and saw where they were going.

They were heading to a large cathedral window that had an image of Wilford made from stained glass.

"Jesus, Wilford sure is a narcissist." Mark shook his head.

"Hang on to me!" Tyler shrieked.

With no other option, Mark grabbed onto Tyler's belt then covered his face with his arms. They closed their eyes, hearing the glass shatter and shards of it grazing their skin.

They made a jump for it.

Mark felt his feet dangle from a great height, but they we're falling fast, they were gliding in the air. He turned around and faced the house, seeing the two pursuers firing their SMGs at them. Mark fired back, making the two retreat as they descended to the ground.

Right on time, a vintage silver Mini Cooper stopped beside them, a blue haired man was behind the wheel.

"Really? A Mini Cooper?" Tyler groaned.

"It's the first car parked outside!" Ethan defended, "Get in!"

"You know I won't fit in there!" Tyler said.

A gunshot made him jump.

"LAST ONE IN'S A ROTTEN EGG!" The curly haired man went to the left side where the passenger side was and dove into the backseat, his feet sticking out of the window due to the compact size of the car.

Mark went in as well, ignoring Tyler's foot that ended up on his shoulder.

"GO! GO!" Mark bellowed.

Ethan turned the car around and drove to the front gates that were wide open as more bullets hit their vehicle. Soon enough they were on open road, Ethan sticking to the right side of the road.

The man honked his horn upon seeing an incoming car.

"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" Ethan yelled.

"ETHAN! WE'RE IN THE U.K.! STICK TO THE LEFT, YOU IDIOT!" Tyler scolded Ethan who only had his head sticking out from the back.

"Oh shit, sorry!" Ethan steered away from right and went to the correct lane.

"Whew, that was a close one." Tyler huffed, still stuck in an awkward position.

Mark couldn't help but think about his choice of leaving Wilford behind. But he was determined to beat Dark to the ruby, so he had to make a choice, albeit painful, to keep going.

"So what next?" Ethan asked.

Mark sighed, "We need to find another vehicle, and a fresh set of clothes."


	15. The Warfstache Warehouse

The near freezing January morning gave Mark goosebumps as him and his friends drove along an almost empty road along Brighton pier. They had changed into a new set of dry clothes, but not even the thick jacket over his shirt was enough to warm Mark up, he was used to the summer heat of Los Angeles so this was very much new to him. Tyler was driving, Ethan was on the passenger seat, and Mark was in the back, his hand running through the thick golden yellow fur of his dog Chica.

Out of the blue, Mark took out his phone and dialed for Amy. He ignored the extra charges his carrier had, all he wanted was to hear his girlfriend's voice.

Three rings came after he had placed the call, and fortunately, she answered.

"Mark?" Amy's soft voice answered.

"Hey Amy." He greeted, his face having a wide smile as he laid back on the inclined seat, "I just wanna say, I miss you."

He heard her giggle the cutest way he could imagine, "How cheesy, Fischbach. I miss you too."

"How are you?" He asked.

"I'm actually doing fine, the snow cleared earlier than predicted and I'll be home first thing tomorrow."

Mark suddenly sat upright, his heart missing a beat, "Whoa, whoa, tomorrow?"

"Yeah, tomorrow."

He gulped, "As in tomorrow tomorrow?"

"Yes, ya big goof, tomorrow, January 26, 2017."

"Aren't you gonna spend more time with your family?" Mark mumbled, "Surely they missed you, right?"

"They've probably grown sick of my face by now since we were snowbound for weeks."

Mark bit his lip, "You sure you don't wanna spend one more week with them?" He glanced up front and saw his two friends looking back at him, Tyler using the rear view mirror.

"What's going on, babe?" Amy's tone changed, "Don't you wanna see me again?"

"I-I do, it's just that... I..." Mark had the urge of telling her the truth right then and there, he knew Amy was not a girl that could be fooled easily, she would often figure out things for herself. 

"You what?"

What do I do? Mark mouthed to his two friends. Tyler sighed and Ethan shrugged.

"Mark...?" Amy raised her voice, "I know you're hiding something from me. You tend to pause longer everytime when you're hiding something."

At that instance, Mark regretted his decision of calling his girlfriend. He once again glanced at Ethan and Tyler.

Mark sighed, scared of what would happen after he had done what he had in mind.

"Alright..." he pressed the phone back to his ear, "I-PSSHHHH! Am-PSHHHH! Oh no, Amy-PSHHHH! You're breaking-PSHHHH up! I-PSSHHHH call you-PSSHHHHH! Later-PSHHHH!"

"MARK?!" Amy said, a bit panicked.

"PSHHHHHH!" Mark replied, "I love you-PSHHHH! Call you again later-PSHHHHH!"

Mark ended the call.

"Very original, Mark." Tyler said.

"What?" Mark shrugged, "I did what I had to do."

"You just have to prepare yourself once she finds out you're not at home tomorrow." Ethan said.

Mark's heart skipped. "Shit."

"Hmm... now where is Wilford's warehouse?" Tyler squinted his eyes, scanning the streets, "What does it look like?"

"He didn't describe it thoroughly, he just said it's on the streets near Brighton Pier." Mark replied.

"Great, it'll take us forever to find it." Ethan sighed.

"Maybe not, guys." Mark leaned over and joined the two in searching, "I think it's that warehouse over there?"

He was pointing to a large three-story warehouse that was made of bricks that had turned brown over the years, some parts of it having splotches of its original bright red color. It was almost like the other structures around town, the only obvious giveaway was a giant pink mustache displayed on the top floor.

"Of course." Tyler said flatly, driving a few blocks away from the Warfstache building and parking in a dark alleyway.

Mark climbed over the seats on the second row and went to the back where all of their gadgets were. He took off his shirt then put on a thin bulletproof vest over his bare skin. He slipped his shirt back on then wore a bandolier around his shoulder that carried at least five magazines for his pistol. He finally put his dark blue jacket over his shirt and zipped it up halfway. Lastly, he stuffed the little Tiny Box Tim figure in the jacket pocket.

"Alright," Tyler took out a tablet he has hidden in the glove compartment, "Conveniently, and for the sake of this plot moving forward, Wilford had provided Bob and Wade the blueprint for Warfstache's warehouse. I'll stay here and guide your way through the place. And I will bypass the system so you can get inside."

"Okay." Mark nodded.

"Here, wear these." Tyler handed Mark a pair of glasses, "This is equipped with a camera that projects a feed on my tablet so I can see where you're going."

"Cool." Mark wore the glasses, "Holy shit, this is better than my old ones. I can see in 4K now."

"It also comes with an X-ray vision." His friend recounted, "So you can see through walls."

Mark was facing Tyler when Tyler remotely activated the filter. "FUCK!"

"What?!" Tyler jumped.

"I-I don't wanna talk about it." Mark shuddered, "That's an image I'm not gonna get out of my brain."

Tyler's eyes widened, he realized what Mark was talking about.

Ethan joined him in the back and put on a beanie that concealed his light blue hair, he pulled out a leash from his bag and locked it around Chica's neck. He then changed into a pair of sweatpants and put on rubber shoes that disguised him as an average morning jogger.

"Chica and I will patrol the area." Ethan said, pushing open the back doors and letting the cold morning air rush inside the van. "I'll let you know if the area's clear." He cocked his gun then tucked it in a holster under his black jacket. Chica hopped down the van and joined Ethan.

"Take care of my Chica-poo." Mark said.

"You got it." Ethan jogged away from the vehicle. Mark's dog, being the disciplined doggo she always was, walked alongside Ethan as they made their way out of the alley and into the sidewalk.

A few minutes later, Ethan's voice came from their earpiece.

"The coast is clear, no Darkiplier in sight."

"There's no one inside either." Tyler assured who was gazing on the tablet's screen.

"Okay, let's go find that stupid ruby." The YouTuber stepped outside and went the opposite direction where Ethan went.

Mark emerged out of the alley and into the streets, seeing that the sun was now starting to rise as its rays slipped through the tall buildings from afar. He also realized that people had begun to populate the area.

"Okay," Tyler spoke, "You'll be taking the entering through the second floor fire exit. It's on the east side of the building."

"Copy that." Mark jogged his way to the warehouse that was just three buildings away from where they were parked. The road was to his right, and the buildings and warehouses were to his left.

Meanwhile Tyler stayed put in the van, his eyes glued to the tablet displaying what Mark could see and hear, he heard him pant loudly feigning a jogger and his shoes clatter on the ground that was partially covered in snow. He watched Mark run past a few people who had gone outside to start their day.

"Wow, that girl's hot." Tyler remarked upon seeing an insanely attractive woman on the video feed as she crossed paths with Mark.

"Looks can be deceiving, Ty." Mark spoke into his radio.

"What do you mean?" Tyler asked.

"Because I still had my X-Ray vision on and that woman is actually a man." Mark shuddered, "How do you turn this off? I'm seeing things I shouldn't see."

"Give your glasses a light tap on the right side."

________

Mark did as he was told, and he was relieved of all the potential horrors he might see. He sighed, his breaths evaporating into smoke the second it left his mouth.

"Thank you." Mark said, finally reaching Warfstache's warehouse. "I'm here."

"Make a left into the alley, the fire escape is located there." Tyler instructed through the radio, "Ethan, how are things there?".

"I'm making my second trip around the area." Ethan advised, "So far, so good."

"Great." Mark went into the alley and saw the metal platforms that was the fire escape attached to the side of the building. He looked up at it.

"That's it, up there." Apocalypto said.

Mark ran to the retractable ladder on the side and tried reaching for it, only to discover that the extending portion of it was missing.

He groaned, "Oh boy."

He adjusted his fingerless gloves on his hand before jumping for the first rung, his fingers immediately clamping around it. Mark was now dangling at least three feet in the air, with all of his weight relying on his arms. With a low grunt, Mark hoisted himself up easily, much to his surprise. He went over the railing and ended up facing the door.

"Wait a sec, I'm gonna open the door for ya." Tyler spoke.

A soft beep came from the door followed by a click. Mark grabbed the handlebars and pulled the three inch thick door open. Inside was near pitch black, and the light outside was only able to illuminate a few feet of the inside; a layer of metal grates that happened to be overlooking a much larger area of the warehouse that was shrouded in darkness. Mark dug into his jacket and pulled out his pistol and a small flashlight. He then attached the flashlight under his gun then switched it on, allowing him to see at least a bit more.

"I'm going in." Mark announced, stepping inside gun in a ready position.

"I'll be your eyes." Tyler said, "Alright, Warfstache said that the ruby is in a safe in the west side of the building where his office is."

Mark was relying on the flashlight that lit only what was in front of him as he made his way deeper inside, the beams passed through the grate that shone on wooden crates underneath him. He lifted his gun up, he could now see the vast middle section of the warehouse filled with crates that were neatly stacked on top of each other but was not lined in either rows or columns creating a maze-like structure. The beam of his light was enough for him to spot a room that had window panes on the other side.

"That's Wilford's office." Tyler said, "You're gonna have to go down to the first floor and past the crates to get there."

"Gotcha." Mark turned left and faced a set of stairs that led to the ground floor.

"Okay, you're now facing the south side of the warehouse."

"Yeah, and a pile of boxes are blocking my way. I'm gonna have to go around it. There's no way I can climb over." Mark replied, seeing that one crate was just as tall as him, and it was at least three stacks and basically formed a wall.

Mark turned around, he was now facing the north and walking under the second floor platform he had recently been on. He went past more boxes and ended up on the less occupied spot in the entire place, only having the narrow steel beams that supported the floor above him. He then spotted a way deeper near the main entrance.

"Guys!" Ethan practically yelled, "Dark's men are here. They're going inside the warehouse."

"Which side are they on?" Mark asked, now a few feet from the main doors.

Then the front door creaked open, making Mark's heart drop to his belly. He quickly looked around and found no place to hide except on the ceiling. In a swift Spiderman-like action, he pulled himself up on the and hung there, fingers sticking out of the small holes, feet spread wide apart that it reached two adjacent horizontal beams as his anti-gravity shoes did its job, acting like a magnet that fastened him there. He also ended up pressing his face and body against the cold, rusty grates.

Everything in his vision was now upside down, but he saw two armed men in black suits get inside guns equipped with flashlights at the ready.

"Secure the building." The man said whom Mark recognized as the bonehead blonde-haired leader.

Their light beams bobbed around the place searching the spot. Then they were followed by two more goons before a fifth one stood just outside the entrance, his most notable feature was his bright red hair. Darkiplier himself.

The man stepped inside, adjusting his grey suit and tie then taking out his own gun.

"Someone get the lights." Dark said.

"Fuck." Mark said under his breath, feeling the tension in his arms and legs, cold sweat dripping from his forehead down to his hair as he was mere meters away from where Damien stood.

Then they were right under him, and Mark prayed that none of them would look up.

But he knew his hiding spot wouldn't be that much of a hiding spot soon. He began crawling his way to the right where the crates were, gently releasing one hand from the grates and reaching out to the beam to his side.

He was successful in moving a row closer, the next one has the grates under it. But the goon leader then stopped directly underneath him, letting the others push forward.

"You, find the main switch of this place." The leader said.

Dark walked past the man, hands behind his back, treading like an esteemed gentleman following where the beam of their flashlight was shining, "Don't let your guards down, it's pretty safe bet that Mark is either on his way here or he already is here."

And just as things couldn't get any worse, Mark felt something shift in his jacket pocket, it was the TBT figure, inching its way out.

"Hang on, I'm trying to figure out how to disable the lights." Tyler whispered.

Sure, I'll hang on. Mark said to himself, being unable to speak or risk being caught.

Mark paused, his legs and arms trembling, straining from the prolonged tension on them. He looked at his jacket and he could see the corner of the box, little by little, slipping out of the pocket poised to fall on the head of the leader.

Then it fell.

Mark released one hand and caught the falling figure in mid air mere inches from the top of the man's head, his fingers tightly wrapping around it.

He let out a sigh of relief...

But then the lights went on, and he cast a shadow over the goon.

The leader quickly spotted him. Mark deactivated his boots and dropped on top of him. He let out a pained grunt that alerted the rest who turned around to face Mark.

"Ah, I knew you'd be here." Dark said calmly.

Adrenaline rushed through Mark's body and he ran just as the men open fired on him, one bullet hitting the sole of his left boot, taking out a huge chunk of leather and severing the wires built inside it.

"AGH FUCK!" Mark said, the boot had protected his foot, but it had damaged the anti-gravity feature. He made a left into the corner that led deeper into the warehouse and between tall stacks of crates.

"TYLER!" Mark panted, "Now's the time for your computer magic!"

"I'm working on it!"

"You better do it fast!" The YouTuber exclaimed, hearing the loud footsteps behind him.

"LIGHTS OUT!" Tyler declared.

They were engulfed in partial darkness as the morning sunlight crept through the small windows near the roof. Mark tapped the left side of his glasses and his sights turned into night vision mode.

"FIND HIM!" Damien screamed.

"Make a left here." Tyler said.

"You got it!" Mark did as he was told.

That was when a bright red light flew over him, illuminating the place with a red hue. It came from a flare gun. The flaming bullet landed on the floor near him letting out a hiss as it cast a shadow of him on the ceiling, preventing him from using the darkness as cover.

"Jesus Christ!" Mark switched off the night vision as more flares flew over him landing in random places.

Mark pulled out his gun and blindly fired back at the men, not knowing where he was aiming. He was now faced with two corridors: one went straight ahead while the other turned right.

"Straight ahead!" Tyler said.

"You got it!" Mark said, passing through the other path.

In his peripheral vision, he saw a man at the end of the corridor to his right. Mark stopped in his tracks and turned just as the goon fired a flare at him. But Mark's quick reaction had his foot jolting forward, kicking the flaming shot back at the goon and igniting his pants on fire.

"Whoa! How the fuck did you do that?" Tyler blurted out, obviously surprised.

"I have no idea." Mark replied before continuing.

Mark turned around and walked backwards, firing his gun at the three men chasing after him. It was then that he spotted a metal shelf along the way, he then aimed for the metal leg and blasted it off causing the entire thing to come crashing down and block his pursuers. And along the way, he snatched a tennis racket that was on top of a box.

He was now traveling a long straight passageway when the goon leader blocked his way, appearing at the end from around the corner. He held a red flare gun and aimed at him.

"Huh... so you'll serve? Alright." Mark bent his knees slightly and spun the tennis racket in his hand.

The leader did not reply, he just fired one flare. The Agent reacted fast, swinging the racket and sending the flare hurling back at the man. Mark then ran just as the man had ducked, throwing the racket at him and disorienting him.

"You think my only functioning boot will get me over the crates?" The YouTuber asked.

"It's worth a shot." Tyler mumbled.

"Here goes nothing." Mark activated his boot and leapt in the air.

Only for Dark to jump at him and grab his foot.

The sudden shift in weight sent them falling back hard to the ground. Dark quickly climbed over Mark and hurled his fist into Mark's face. This shattered Mark's eyeglasses, the pieces of glass grazing his eyelid and drawing out blood. Mark's world shook the second he felt the fist, and all he heard was a high pitched ringing.

Mark could not move, his arms were crushed under the weight of Dark's knees.

"If you want something done..." Dark grumbled, his voice echoing in Mark's senses.

He punched Mark again, the impact causing Mark to hit the back of his head against the floor.

"...you have to do it yourself."


	16. Ruby Madness

Mark spat out blood from his mouth, his arms unable to move from the weight of Dark's knees. He shook his head, removing the pieces of broken lens from his eyelids, he opened his eyes and saw Dark looming over him with a sinister grin on his face, chortling in delight as he kept Mark pinned down. Meanwhile, back in Tyler's van, the video feed on Mark's point of view had been disrupted after Dark had destroyed the eyeglasses.

"Hmm... where were we? Oh, right!" Dark pulled out his gun and aimed the barrel at Mark's face.

Mark gasped, he was never this close to a gun.

"Fucking Wilford stopped me from doing what I should've done ages ago." Damien clicked his gun, "That skirmish back there cost me a bullet."

The agent's heart dropped.

"Wh-what did you do to him?!" He muttered, his blood boiling.

"What do you think I did?" Dark laughed, "One bullet was enough to stop him, poor bastard didn't put up much of a fight after that."

"He-he's your friend..."

Dark paused and shut his eyes for a brief second, "I had to make some compromises."

"What about me?." Mark asked, "I'm your friend too."

Damien bit his lip, "I'm sorry, Mark. I can't have anyone stopping me from doing what is right. Now get the fuck up, we're gonna get the ruby together."

He tugged on Mark's collar and yanked him to stand. He then frisked Mark and recovered his gun and a couple of grenades before discarding them on the floor.

"Go." Dark proceeded to push Mark to keep walking.

"No funny business, or you'll have your fucking brains all over the floor." He threatened.

Mark felt the cold barrel of the gun press against the back of his head. He then heard the footsteps of Dark's men behind them. He could not dare pull off a stunt, he knew that once he snatched his captor's gun he'll be greeted by a hail of bullets and be dead in a heartbeat.

Dark hissed, "I know you can hear me, Tyler. I need you to open the office doors for us."

There was no response.

"DO IT OR MARK DIES!" Dark pressed the gun barrel to Mark's head.

"Tyler, do what he says." Mark sighed.

A loud buzz came from the second floor followed by a click.

"Good boy, Apocalypto." Damien chuckled, "I figured you're still a pushover since the last time we met. Fucker can't even handle stress that well as you, Mark."

That comment sparked anger in Mark. "What did you just say?"

"Haven't you figured it out yet, Mark?" Damien taunted, "Tyler's always in the backseat while you do the heavy lifting. The man's terrified of being out in the open. What a pussy."

"That's not true."

"If that's not true he should be here with you as you carry out the mission, not hiding in some dark alley pretending to be some elite hackerman."

"You son of a-" Mark flinched, but was stopped when he felt the gun push into his back.

"Move, Mark." Dark said.

The group made their way up the stairs, quickly reaching the second floor where the small room with glass windows were, and the only access was a two inch thick steel door which was now ajar.

"Your so-called partner is flawed in so many ways you can imagine, cowardice is his most identifiable trait." Dark laughed, "You should've asked for a better partner."

You'll regret saying that, Damien. Mark said in his head.

"The lights too, please." Dark hissed.

And on cue, the lights flickered back on, fully revealing the massive warehouse and letting them see the damages they had caused: Portions of the crates were burning, some had toppled over, and the ground had pieces of wood that had been blasted from the boxes.

"Stop." Dark said upon reaching the entrance to the office, reaching for the door and pulling it open, "Get in." He said to Mark.

Mark had no other choice but to comply. The room had a desk cluttered with small figurines and documents in the middle, it was paired with a large black leather office chair facing the row of glass windows that overlooked the entirety of the warehouse. And on the wall behind the chair was a large portrait of Wilford Warfstache in a gold painted picture frame, he had both hands on his waist and sported his usual wide smile, his long black hair slicked back that reminded Mark of Wilford's title card for his talk show.

"Wilford indeed is the embodiment of narcissism." Damien shrugged, following Mark inside and surveying the place while keeping his gun aimed at his hostage.

"Pretty much." Mark agreed.

"Hey Mark," Tyler whispered, his voice trembling, "I have an idea, you need to close the door behind you two."

"We need to get the ruby first." Mark mumbled before clearing his throat to muffle the conversation, his eyes glued on Dark as they circled around Wilford's table, Mark eventually ending up with the door right behind him.

"Alright, Markimoo." Damien faced him, "Where's the ruby?"

"It's in the safe." Mark replied.

"What safe?"

"The safe is behind Wilford's portrait." Tyler said to Mark.

"It's behind Wilford's portrait." Mark repeated, stepping back a little. Then he tripped when he hit a small trash bin, falling backwards and shoving the door shut behind him sealing both of them inside.

"Go get it." Damien motioned him to walk.

Mark approached the large photo and felt for the edges of the wooden frame, eventually getting a grip and pulling it open. It swung like a door, revealing a small safe that had a keypad on its door.

"Tell your pussy of a friend to unlock the safe."

"Unlock it, Tyler." Mark said.

A soft, high pitched beep came from the safe and followed by two locks clicking. However, Mark heard the two clicks coming from different sides of the room, not just from the safe itself. He realized that the second came from the office door. Dark did not acknowledge the second click as he was too focused on the safe.

"Don't move." Damien said as he stepped closed to the container and swung it open.

Inside was a glass cylinder as big as a tumbler, and suspended inside was a ruby as red as blood that was just the size of an olive.

The MacGuffin Ruby.

"Oh my, I never thought I'd see it in person." Dark reached inside and took it out, his eyes glazing over the MacGuffin, his emotions running high at the moment, feeling triumph and excitement, "It's beautiful."

"Dark." Mark spoke, breaking Damien's trance, "Don't do this, we'll find a way to change people, but not like this." Mark took a step closer to his former friend, "Please."

Dark rolled his eyes, sighing, "There you go again with your dumb goody-goody persona, Mark. I'm so sick of it, you think the world is a good place, but in reality, it isn't. It isn't just clear skies."

"I know, it's just... killing billions won't make a difference."

"Yes it will." Dark raised his gun, "And that killing starts with you, Mark."

Mark snatched a snow globe from The desk and smashed it into Dark's gun, the pieces of glass jamming into his hand and sending the gun flying on the opposite side of the room, but not before Dark was able to fire a shot through the window.

He then seized Damien's arm that was holding the ruby, using all his strength to wrestle it from his grasp.

Dark retaliated by punching Mark in the gut with his wounded fist, ignoring the stinging pain the glass shards that were still lodged in his hand.

The door suddenly shook, Dark's men were trying to get inside, but the lock was holding it in place.

It was only the two of them inside.

Both parties were desperately trying to gain the upper hand as a violent scuffle erupted, they were punching, kicking, and shoving each other.

The glass cylinder flew from their grasp, hitting the wall and shattering upon impact. The small ruby fell on the floor and began rolling away from them.

The two men dived for the MacGuffin, both crashing on the floor on their belly. Dark pulled Mark back by the hair and climbed over him to get closer to the ruby, Mark also yanked Dark back, but he had two fingers up Dark's nostrils that had the latter screaming muffled curses at him.

They looked like two kids fighting over a cookie.

Mark finally got the chance to kick Damien in the face. Damien clutched his nose as Mark stood up and picked the ruby from the floor.

Refusing to give up, Dark stumbled to his feet and charged at Mark, shoving both of them through the cracked window and off the second floor.

Mark felt a surge of pain when his back hit the wooden crates, bouncing off of it and falling flat on his belly on the ground. Both of them were rolling on the floor in agony a few feet from each other.

Dark lifted his head and saw the ruby inches from him and hastily picked it up. With his remaining strength, he stood up and kicked Mark in the gut.

"Finders keepers, losers weepers." Damien wiped the blood from the side of his mouth as he examined he small stone in his fingers.

He was like that until Chica's jaws closed around Dark's arm.

"CHICA?!" Mark screamed.

Dark wailed, his other hand trying to pry the dog's jaws open as Chica violently wagged her entire body, bringing him down back to the floor and making him lose grip of the ruby.

With Dark still in pain, someone lunged at him, shoving into a pile of crates and let the ones on the top tier fall over and trap him in there. It was Ethan, still in his tracksuit.

"Fucker always talks too much." Ethan reached his hand out to Mark.

"Yeah, he rambles a lot - just like me." Mark got back up to his feet, "Thanks, man."

"Don't mention it." Ethan breathed, handing Mark his gun back.

Mark took up the small ruby, pulled out his Tiny Box Tim figure, and opened the hatch using his thumbprints that were both placed on the irises of the figure. He then placed the jewel inside and secured it in place before locking it and stuffing it back in his pocket.

"Let's get the fuck outta here." Mark said.

The two ran back through the maze, with Chica trailing after them, later taking the front in leading them out of to the exit.

"Ty, we've got the ruby." Mark said, having a sudden feeling of fulfillment in him.

"I'll meet you at the front door!" Tyler replied.

Upon emerging out of the maze's exit, they were greeted by five of Dark's men who were blocking their way out.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, FUCKERS!" One goon snarled.

That was the only thing he could say before a white van crashed through the front door and rammed into them knocking them away from the spot and flying to the opposite side.

"I told you I'd meet you at the front door!" Tyler said as he pushed the passenger side door open.

Ethan and Chica ran to the vehicle when a loud explosion shook the warehouse, coming from Mark's right side. The next thing Mark knew was a gangway had fallen from the ceiling and separated him from his friends.

To make things worse, more of Dark's goons emerged from the entrance and began shooting at the van.

"MARK!" Tyler shrieked.

"GO! YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!" Mark shouted, looking over his shoulder and seeing Dark giving chase, "I'LL FIND ANOTHER WAY!"

With much hesitation, Tyler shifted the van in reverse and backed out of the warehouse.

Mark, on the other hand, climbed up the fallen gangway and found himself on the third floor of the warehouse, eventually leading up to the roof.

He emerged on the rooftop, the cold morning air sending shivers down his spine.

"Mark, where are you?!" Tyler radioed in.

"I'm on the rooftop." Mark replied, sealing himself outside as he heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

Mark looked over the edge and saw a sheer drop, there was no way he could survive that fall and his grappling pen was not long enough for him to rappel down. It wasn't just that though, a couple of Dark's men walked along the alley and looked up, opening fire when they saw him.

"We're coming back to get you." Ethan said.

"No, keep going." Mark urged, "I'll meet you at the pier."

"How are you gonna get there?"

Mark backed up,his vision focusing on the adjacent building that was at least the same height as Wilford's warehouse.

"It's crazy but it's the only option I have." Mark said, his heart racing as he prepared his thighs and legs. "I'm gonna parkour my way through this biznitch."


	17. Rooftop Rumble

He wiped the blood dripping down the side of his face as he positioned himself, moving away from the edge of the building that had a beautiful panoramic view of Brighton Pier. However, he was at least miles from their rendezvous point, and the only way he could get there the fastest and the safest was to scale and jump from building to building.

Mark huffed, his heart racing and legs trembling. He was not only shaking from the nonstop violent encounter with his power hungry childhood friend but also from anxiety, never had he realized that his brief training with the secret service would be put to the test that quickly. He shook his fingers and jogged in place.

"You can do this, Mark." He murmured to himself, "It's just jumping across rooftops, just like your training back in Y.A.S.S."

"Yeah," Ethan replied, snickering, "...but this time there won't be a soft mattress waiting for you at the bottom if you miss a step."

"You're not fucking helping, Ethan!" Mark shouted, running his hand through his thick black hair.

"Mark, there will be four gaps between buildings you need to jump over to make it to the pier. The first three are just small, it's only as wide as the alleyway beneath it." Tyler advised.

"Okay, that wouldn't be too much of a problem." Mark shrugged, "What about the fourth one?" 

"The fourth one is as wide as the two way road."

"Now that's a problem, heh." Mark laughed nervously, "Well... maybe there's another way..." he turned around back to the door.

Only for the door to be blown open with a loud bang and send it flying away landing near Mark's feet. Mark jumped upon seeing Dark and his men emerge from the smoke caused by the grenade that blasted the door off.

"Next time I'll ask Bob and Wade to make me a pair of shoes with wings." Mark spun in his spot and booked it, running as fast as he could to the edge. "GERONIMO!"

He bent his knees and launched himself up in the air, his right leg being the one that propelled him forward while his left extended up front for the edge of the adjacent building. Wilford's warehouse was a few feet taller than the neighboring structure, and Mark braced himself as he landed on the rooftop of it, rolling on the ground to distribute the momentum and not break his legs.

Damien sprung into action and ran after Mark, doing the same and possessing the same physical strength of his enemy. He was followed by a handful of his goons, who had decided to split up from themselves, as if it was a Football game where they attempt to intercept and converge at the one who had the ball. The remaining henchmen stayed on the previous rooftop, guns out and shooting at Mark who was making his way across and to the second rooftop.

The agent was fast approaching a large air vent when one of Dark's men climbed on top of it and blocked his path, Mark dropped on the floor and slid under the vent, narrowly escaping the arms of the goon above. He rolled back up to his feet and continued running, running in a zigzag motion as a hail of bullets rained on him, hitting the ground, the AC units, and the pipes on the roof.

He was finally approaching the other side of the building and noticing that the height of the next was a bit higher. Mark jumped up with a loud grunt, both his hands managing to get a grip of the edge and leaving him dangling over the alley beneath him. He found a footing on the brick wall and climbed up, his arms straining to hoist his entire body up.

"What's your status, Bumbum?" Tyler asked.

"I'm getting my cardio done!" Mark gasped for air, refusing to look back as he heard a pair of footsteps behind him. He climbed over another AC unit and dropped back down.

Dark was closely behind him, emerging on top a few seconds after Mark had. He leapt in the air and landed on Mark, causing the both of them to fall on the floor of the roof. A henchman joined him and pulled Mark back up to stand, holding his arms behind his back as Damien got back up.

Using the goon as leverage, Mark lifted his feet up in the air and kicked Dark in the chest, knocking him off balance, he then did a flip over the goon that released his arms and landed behind him. And as the man turned around, Mark hurled his fist into his face knocking him out.

He then attempted to kick Damien with his left foot, only for it to be caught in his opponent's hands. Dark proceeded to toss the foot over and had Mark losing his balance and land on the floor on his butt. But Mark was quick, he rolled over and away from Dark before jumping to the second building that was just the same height.

Mark could feel his heart pounding in his chest, but he couldn't dare stop.

This building was still under construction, there were at least half a dozen men on it who had just turned up for another day at the construction site. Cement mixers and power tools were on tables, and a tall crane had been built in the middle sticking out what looked to be the main staircase of the structure. The construction workers were startled the moment Mark landed.

Mark did not acknowledge the men, he pressed on and dashed across, fast approaching the wide gap that Tyler had warned him about.

The henchmen were still in hot pursuit, with Damien still leading them, shoving anything or anyone that blocked their way.

"Fuck." It was all he could say, realizing that it was next to impossible for him to make the jump.

"What?" Tyler asked, "What happened?"

"I'm taking a leap of faith." Mark panted, forcing his legs to run faster, his boots making loud thumps on solid ground. He glanced up and noticed that one side of the crane that was lifting the beams and cement was hanging over the edge of the building.

It was his only choice, there was no other option but to jump.

He ruffled his hair vigorously, "FLOOF THE FUCKING HAIR FOR POWER!"

And with those words, Mark propelled himself up, feeling everything slow down as he saw both of his feet now in the air and over the road where he saw the cars as small as children's toys driving below. He screamed at the top of his lungs, his arms flung up in the air.

And it was enough for him to land on the pile of steel beams being hoisted up by the crane. He crashed on it and rolled towards the edge but managed to grab on one of the chains. The now weakened agent climbed up the moving platform and paused to take a breath.

Mark was now hanging over the middle of the road still high up in the air, and Damien and his men unable to follow him.

"HOLY SHIT! I FUCKING MADE IT!" Mark cheered, "YEAH!" His voice breaking like a prepubescent boy.

"Congratulations, Mark, but you still gotta get down from there." Apocalypto said.

"Oh, right." Mark took out his grappling pen and set his sights on the billboard on top of the next building.

With a click of a button, a hook shot out of one end of the pen and hooked itself on the steel frame of the advertisement sign.

"Here I go." Mark let his body swing, aiming for the open window of the second floor, "WHEEEEEE-OH FUCK!"

He slammed into the wall a few inches to the left of the window.


	18. Pier Pressure

Mark slid down the rope, feeling his torso throbbing in pain after colliding with the brick wall as he landed on an awning that was beneath him. His weight caused the thin sheet to sink in and create a depression in the middle to adhere his body.

He laid there for a second staring at the cloudless sky above and breathing the cold air in and out, feeling his rapid heartbeat slowing down.

"Ow. That hurt." Mark groaned.

It was a brief moment of rest before he was interrupted by the buzzing in his pocket. The agent, still lying on his back, reached for his phone and brought it out to look at the caller.

Icedorkroast Peebles  
Calling...

Mark answered it without any hesitation, bringing it to his ear.

"Hey, babe." Mark grunted, rolling onto his belly, "What's up?"

"Mark," Amy replied, her serious tone scaring Mark, "Are you out of the country or something?"

"What?" His eyes widened as he shuffled again, "What do you mean? No."

"Are you sure?" She said, sounding more agitated.

"Yeah, I'm home with Chica right now."

"Then how could you explain Kathryn finding the house empty and the living room destroyed?"

At that instant, Mark's heart dropped.

"M-maybe she went to the wrong house." It was the best reason he could think of.

"I doubt it, Mark." Amy raised her voice, "And the service provider indicated that your calls were coming from abroad."

Holy shit.

"You've been acting weird lately, what the hell's going on?!"

Before he could even come up with a reply, a gunshot was heard, and the bullet tore through the awning causing the entire thing to rip. Mark fell through, crashing on the sidewalk with a loud thud and a groan.

"MARK?!" Amy yelled, "Are those gunshots?!"

Mark got back up to his feet, his phone still next to his face, "Uh... yeah." He replied sheepishly, looking around and spotting Dark and his men across the road with their guns drawn.

"What the hell's going on?!" She asked as another gunshot was heard.

"Uh, we're just playing a game, sweetie!" Mark drew out his gun with his free hand, running away from his pursuers and around the corner. "It's a new game, it's so realistic that it sounded so real!"

"Stop lying to me, Mark Fischbach!" His girlfriend yelled, but still sounding concerned, "Something is definitely not right."

Mark was now running through the panicking crowd of people, heading south to the pier, making a left into an alleyway and hiding behind a large trash bin.

"Uh..."

"ANSWER ME! I'm worried sick!" She snarled, "I don't like it when you keep secrets from me!"

"Okay!" Mark whispered, looking over the trash bin.

"Why are you suddenly whispering?"

Mark bit his lip and sighed, "You may find it really crazy but..."

He took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

"I-I'm on a mission." He murmured, but it was loud enough for her to hear.

"Wh-wha?" Amy stammered, "A mission?"

"Yeah, like the ones seen in James Bond movies, it involves chasing down a bad guy whose sole motive is to basically destroy the world. That kind."

"I-I don't understand..."

Mark left his hiding spot and went deeper into the alleyway, "I know, me either. A few weeks ago I was peacefully sitting in front of my computer, now I'm on a mission to hunt down Darkiplier."

"Darkiplier?" She repeated, "Your evil counterpart in your videos?"

"That's a yes and a no." Mark stuck to the walls, making doing his best to keep his footsteps quiet, "I-I know it's complicated, babe, but you gotta believe me. And for me being overseas is that I'm currently in Brighton on the run."

"On the run from what?"

"It's very complicated, Amy, I can't risk letting you know everything. You might be in danger, heck, just by telling you I'm a spy puts you in danger." He kept running, each step being closer to the pier.

"Why would I be in danger?"

"Because I've watched way too many films to know that the bad guy attacks the people the main character cares about to get to them." Mark looked around the corner and caught a glimpse of two of Dark's men coming for him, "I'm sorry I had to lie to you, Amy, I don't want you to be hurt. Although I know you're one smart girl you'll figure it out soon, but the less you know, the better."

As soon as the goons stepped into his view Mark swung his arm at them, his elbow and fist hitting the men in their necks knocking them down. He then lifted his foot up and stomped on the thigh of one of them and then kicked the other in the gut.

"You're lying..." Amy hissed.

"I know I've been lying a lot Amy..." Mark bent down and punched the men, his phone between his shoulder and face, "...but this time I'm telling the truth, some crazy writer decided to put me into an outrageous situation just like what he did to Ian and Anthony six times."

"What?!"

"I honestly have no idea what I just said." Mark shook his head before taking off and running away as soon as another henchman spotted him. "But you gotta believe me. Just look after yourself."

"You're crazy-"

"HEY!" A man appeared from around the corner and swung a bat at him, this had Mark jumping away, making the phone slip from between his shoulder and head and fall face-down on the concrete ground.

The agent deflected the bat with a swipe of his right arm, eventually snatching it from his grasp with his left. Mark then swung it at the goon's head.

He hurriedly picked up his phone and turned it around, only to find the entire screen shattered and the phone itself dead.

"Fuck." Mark sighed, as another gunshot was fired, hitting the wall near him.

Mark, with anxiety growing within him both from the situation and for lying to his girlfriend, decided to carry on the mission, running even further to the beach.

With his eyes still glued to his broken phone, he suddenly bumped into an innocent bystander, causing the man to drop his box of donuts on the ground.

"Oh shit! Sorry!" Mark said.

"Mark?" The man asked, his voice high pitched and had a strong Irish inflection.

The agent lifted up his head and came face to face with a thin pale man as tall as him, his hair neon green and his eyes bright blue.

Jacksepticeye.

"Seán..." Mark cleared his throat, kneeling down on one knee and picking up the discarded box of donuts and lifting it up between them.

"OH MY GOD, MARKIPLIER IS PROPOSING TO JACKSEPTICEYE!" A girl who was nearby screamed, alerting the others around them, "SEPTIPLIER AWAY!"

The other girls behind her also squealed, and they quickly took out their phones and began recording.

"What the fuck?!" Mark sprung back to his feet and dusted off the snow and dirt he had collected.

"Whoa." Seán held him in place, "Are you alright, dude? Your face, you've got cuts all over your face."

"I'm fine..." Mark chuckled, wiping his face with his sleeve. However he was not looking directly at Seán, he was looking behind him.

"Is everything alright?" The Irishman asked.

"Uh, yeah!" Mark forced out a weak smile, "But I... I gotta go. I need to get to the pier, like right now."

And at that instant, the agent saw the two men he knocked down earlier now running after him.

"Alrighty, I'll see you later, buddy!" Jacksepticeye said.

"Bye!" Mark quickly spun around and continued his way, running as fast as he could as he heard the a pair of footsteps following him.

________

The van screeched on the road coming to a stop on the curb. After that, Tyler froze for a second, staring at the now switched off dashboard in deep thought. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, the leather squeaking from his squeezing. He bit his lip and exhaled through his nostrils, feeling frustration building up within him.

"Tyler?" Ethan spoke, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder that eventually shook him out of his trance-like state.

Apocalypto shook his head and turned to face his friend in the backseat, "Yeah?"

"You alright?" Ethan asked, noticing the distressed look on Tyler's face.

Tyler pulled out the key and stepped outside, "I'm okay." He picked up a duffel bag on the passenger's seat and swung it around his back and hanging it on his shoulder, "We have to go now."

Tyler and Ethan emerged outside with Chica in tow, making their way through the parking lot that led straight to the pier. Both men dug into their own bags and pulled out a hat, putting them on and hiding their identity by also putting on a pair of sunglasses.

"K? Where are you?" Ethan said.

"I'm on the getaway vehicle heading to your direction." Felix's voice came from the headset.

A soft whirring came from the distance, getting louder each passing second. They turned their head to that direction and saw a white helicopter flying towards them.

"You always had to make an entrance, eh?" Ethan chortled.

"Well, I am the head of Y.A.S.S. so why not?" Felix replied with gladness in his tone, "Stand back, I'm gonna land on the parking lot."

The helicopter slowly descended to the ground, its spinning blades creating gusts of wind that blew away the thin sheet of snow and litter away from its landing spot. 

"Coming in to land." Felix declared as the landing skids reached the ground. Tyler pulled open the side door, "You guys good?" Felix asked.

"Mark's still on his way." Ethan said, lifting Chica off the ground and gently placing her in the chopper. He then followed her in.

"Yeah, I know." K nodded, "Get in, we're just gonna wait for him here. There are a couple of M4 carbines in the back, you'll probably need those."

Tyler also let himself in and picked up the guns hidden behind the leather seat and gave one to Ethan.

Suddenly Chica started barking, she was restless in her place looking outside at a man running towards their vehicle. He was wearing a blue jacket zipped up halfway with matching dark blue pants, his left boot had wires sticking out of the sole as he sprinted through the lot. He was panting heavily, the look on his face also showed him being out of breath.

"There's our boy!" Felix exclaimed, flipping a bunch of switches that had the blades spinning faster.

Following closely behind Mark were a pair of henchmen who had their guns drawn shooting at him, their shot just hitting the ground.

"Jeez they shoot worse than Stormtroopers!" Ethan fired back at them, hitting one in the leg, "That's how you do it, assholes!"

"C'mon, Mark!" Tyler reached his hand out as his friend was still halfway through.

But then a sedan blocked their way coming from Mark's right.

Mark quickly dove behind a parked SUV as soon as he saw Damien in the car with his sub machine gun out. Dark relentlessly fired at Mark while Ethan and Tyler shot at Dark's vehicle, but the latter weren't making any progress, the car had bulletproof windows and thick armor.

In retaliation, Damien's driver and two other passengers rolled down their window just enough to stick out their SMGs and shot back at the agents.

"FUCK ME, ISN'T THERE AN EASIER WAY TO ESCAPE?!" Mark sat on the floor and laid his back against the wheel of the vehicle.

"I'm gonna have to take off." Felix exclaimed, "This helicopter can't take any more bullets!"

Felix pulled the stick of the chopper back and they rose back into the air. The other two agents strapped down Mark's dog to a chair while the pilot did a few sharp banks in order to align them with the long stretch of the pier to their right.

"Mark, run all the way to the end of the pier. We'll meet you there." Felix instructed.

Mark groaned, "When will the running stop?!"

"Go now! We'll cover you!" Ethan said.

With every strength he had, Mark sprinted out of the parking lot and into the pier, his eyes on the helicopter hovering beside him to his left.

Meanwhile, Ethan and Tyler stuck out half of their bodies out the right side door and aimed at the path behind Mark at the pursuing henchmen. Felix dipped the front of the fuselage and they were now moving forward, almost as fast as the agent running after them on the pier.

"Get ready." Felix said.

Mark watched the helicopter fly past the ferris wheel on the carnival. He lookedover his shoulder and realized that his troubles were far from over, Damien was catching up on him.

He managed to tip over a gumball dispenser, the huge glass dome shattering and spilling all over the ground. Mark just heard a loud thud and people shrieking in surprise.

"Keep running straight." Ethan instructed.

After pushing past a few people and jumping over the main gates of the fair, Mark reached the very tip of the pier overlooking the seemingly endless Atlantic Ocean.

And there, a white helicopter was waiting for him.

"You're gonna have to jump, Mark." Felix said.

"Couldn't you just land here?" Mark breathed.

"I can't, the blades will get tangled in the low-lying wires!"

"Oh great," The agent rolled his eyes, "...another leap of faith."

Mark bent both of his knees and catapulted himself in the air so high he cleared the three and a half feet guide railing, propelling himself towards the helicopted. He basically flew.

The next thing Mark knew was that he was holding onto the landing skid of the chopper, the sudden shift in weight causing the entire thing to tilt to his side.

Tyler quickly grabbed both of Mark's arms and Ethan holding onto Tyler's belt.

"HOLD ON!" Felix turned the stick to the other side to counter it, and he was able to balance it out quickly.

Tyler heaved, pulling Mark into the fuselage. As soon as they were in, Ethan slid the door shut just as Damien and his men began firing at them, but it did not slow down their swift escape.

With now a few miles away from the pier, all of them were able to catch their breaths.

"That was fucking crazy." Mark mumbled, his voice cracking, he was still on the floor of the chopper not bothering to get up.

"Yeah." Tyler finally spoke.

"So crazy that my girlfriend's gonna kill me."


	19. For Your Eyes Only

Mark sat up on the floor, hearing the soft whir of the giant helicopter blades spinning outside, his brain trying to adjust after all the stress he had just been through. It was only now that the bruises and the cuts all over his body throbbed, he felt like he was beaten into a pulp by a professional boxer.

Before he could even do anything else, a warm tongue licked the back of his neck making him jump and shudder. This move was done again as Mark turned around to face Chica, who was on her hind legs looking at him with curious eyes, one ear folded outward and the other drooping down. She had her tongue out, panting heavily as she licked Mark's face yet again.

"Hey, Chica-poo." Mark ran his hand through the dog's fur and pressed his forehead against Chica's, "Thanks for saving me back there, buddy." 

The dog reciprocated by nudging her head into Mark's neck.

"Aww, I love you too, girl."

He stood up and crawled over to the empty chair beside Felix, getting an astonishing view of Brighton. He saw buildings as far as the eye could see, the sun peeking through the tall skyscrapers creating that calming and magnificent spectacle. The town was covered in a thin layer of mist, small patches of snow on rooftops and roads.

"I didn't know how beautiful this place is." Mark looked around, relishing it as he adjusted himself on the seat.

It was not long before he spotted a black smoke rising in the air as it stood out from the clean panoramic view like a speck of dirt on a clean window. It was a single three-story mansion engulfed in flames in the middle of the large well-kept grassy lawn, surrounded by at least five firetrucks blasting water at the base of the fire.

Wilford's Mansion.

Mark turned away from the burning house and looked down at his feet. He was racked with guilt, tears welling in the corner of his eyes.

"I'm so sorry about Wilford, Mark." Felix said, sincerity in his tone.

Mark sighed, "Just promise me one thing, K."

"Anything."

He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out the Tiny Box Tim figure, "Keep a close watch on this thing, this has caused more trouble that it should've."

"You have my word." Felix nodded, banking the helicopter to the left to a less populated area of the town where there were barely any houses.

It was not long before Mark realized that they were following a railroad, flying low enough that if Felix dips the front of the helicopter the skids would touch the gravel. They were now traveling a long straight track, catching up to a yellow freight engine with a single empty flatbed car attached to it.

"I see a helicopter behind me. I'm guessing that's you, K." Wade's voice came from the onboard speakers.

"Yep." Felix replied.

"Alright, please land safely, that's the seventh helicopter you crashed in the last three months." Wade advised.

They were now directly above the flatbed, traveling at the same speed as the locomotive.

"What are you talking about, Wade? I'm a great pilot!" K argued before turning to us, "You guys better have to buckle up, it so happens Wade hasn't perfected the design of this thing."

"Those are standard issue choppers, K. I've made no modifications on it."

Mark reached for the seatbelt on the wall to his right and wrapped it around his chest, clicking the lock securing it in place. His toes in his boots scrunched in fear and he dug his fingers into his seat as Felix began to lower the chopper even more. Tyler and Ethan adjusted themselves on their seats, Ethan making a catholic sign of the cross gesture as he looked up the ceiling muttering a short prayer.

"Help us, Buddha." Tyler mumbled.

"Don't worry, guys! I can handle -IT!" They landed hard on the flatbed, the springy skids causing them to bounce up a bit and slide toward the rear end of the train. "Smooooooth as silk!" He yelped.

"More like smooth as the acne on Ethan's face!" Mark blurted out, grabbing on to whatever he could get his hands on before settling to the door handle.

"HEY!" Ethan yelled, blushing and covering his face with his hands.

There was a loud deafening sound of metal grinding against metal as the left side of the helicopter made contact with the flatbed, creating bright sparks and chipping off the pearlescent white paint of the vehicle. This however, helped them come to a screeching halt, with barely a foot or two distance between the nose and the back of the train.

Felix had his face scrunched up in the middle, most likely cringing from the sound of it. He opened his eyes and turned to look at the men, "See? I told you I'd nail it."

Wade sighed, "I'll get in touch with the insurance company."

They were fast approaching a tunnel that went under the roads and houses, just like any other ordinary subway trains. They went straight into a tunnel quickly engulfing them in darkness with only the headlights of the locomotive shining what was up front. Soon after they stopped in what must've been the middle of the tunnel when Wade sounded the horn twice.

"Alright, guys, this is our stop." Felix stepped down the helicopter and pulled out a small flashlight from under his seat.

The four men jumped down from the flatbed, Mark carrying Chica in his arms as he did so. Felix took the lead, the beam of his flashlight shining through the pitch black of the tunnel illuminating the tracks beneath their feet and a series of pipes and wires on the walls and ceiling.

"See you in the office, boys." Wade said through their headsets.

"Yeah, thanks, Wade." Felix remarked.

With another sound of the horn, the train engine roared back to life and quickly sped off leaving the men in the tunnel. Felix quickly spotted a door along the side of the tunnel, most likely a service tunnel that subway workers access during their daily shift.

"Here we are." He said pushing the door open and revealing a flight of stairs going up to the surface.

Upon reaching the top, Bob was waiting for them there, having a grin on his face.

"Hello, Bob." K said.

"Your chariot awaits, Felix." Bob said in a butchered British English accent, leading them through the exit and into the open world.

They ended up in a park miles away from the pier at the northwest part of Brighton. On the road in front of them was a grey dark tinted SUV, large enough to contain all of them including Bob.

"Get in." Felix said, "We need to get someplace safe."

Bob parked the car in front of a mid rise building along the main road. It was almost midday now, the streets have been flooded by people going to whatever place they have in mind. They blended in perfectly with the others, casually walking through them and stopping in front of the main doors of the building. Above it was a huge sign, each letter made from metal and fastened to the wall.

TRIMMER RESOURCES:

Beneath the large letters were a bunch of smaller ones bearing the company's slogan:

Putting the Ass in "Hire My Ass"!

"What are we doing here?" Mark asked.

"You'll see." Felix pushed the double doors in and it swung freely.

They stepped in the lobby that had a row of chairs by the wall as if to from a queue where in the end was a single office table. Surprisingly, the place was empty save for a man in a black suit and tie who was waiting for them at the table. He had his black hair slicked back, thin rimmed glasses over his Asian eyes, and sporting a wide grin on his face.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen!" He stood up, walking towards them like a charismatic gameshow host, "I'm Bim Trimmer." He shook hands with them, including Chica's paw. "Now tell me, why should I hire your ass?" He turned to Felix.

"Because my ass is more firm and real than Kim Kardashian's ass." Felix replied.

Bim Trimmer smiled and nodded his head, "Good to have you back, K." His tone changed, "Welcome to Y.A.S.S. Brighton Division."

_________

"Great job, boys." Felix said as he paced in the conference room comprising of him, Mark, Tyler, and Ethan, the latter three sitting beside each other facing him, "We now have the MacGuffin. Congrats on your first mission, Agent Bumbum."

Mark cringed, a soft groan escaping his mouth as he pressed an icepack to his cheek.

"And I still have wounds to prove it." He pointed to his numbing face riddled with small cuts now covered with small bandaids.

Felix laughed, "I know you can do it, you're just as cunning as Dark."

He chortled, "Some say we're almost the same person. Both having the same intention of changing the world, but differ in how to do it."

K just nodded his head.

"Well, now that we have that thing," Ethan pointed to the small TBT figure on the table, "What do we do with it?"

"We'll have it locked up for good." Felix said, "I promised Mark that." He gave Mark a wink.

There was a slight pause.

"Alrighty," Felix walked up to a cabinet in the corner and took out a bottle of whiskey and four wine glasses. He placed the glasses on the table and poured the liquor at least one-fourth in each glass. "It calls for a little celebration."

All of them took a glass.

"A toast," Felix lifted his in the middle. Mark and Ethan also lifted theirs, "to foiling Darkiplier's plan."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Tyler slowly shook his head, not even bothering to lift his glass up, his eyes glued to the TBT figure.

"What do you mean, Apocalypto?" Felix narrowed his eyes, lowering his glass on the table, "How can you be so sure of it?"

Mark and Ethan turned their heads at Tyler.

"All I know is that Dark is a smart man, he's not that generic throwaway villain that you can evade easily." The curly haired man darted his eyes at them, sighing, "And besides, we still haven't caught him..." He then drank all of the whiskey in his glass and put it back on the table in such a way it made a loud clink. "the mission's not over."

The others stood there, mouths hanging open ever so slightly.

"Thanks for the drink, K." Tyler turned around and stormed out of the room.

"Tyler!" Mark ran after him and ended into the hallway. He turned to his left and saw Tyler walking away, his head bowed down. He grabbed his friend's shoulder and forced Tyler to face him, "What's wrong?"

Tyler shut his eyes and bit his lip, taking a large breath of air. As soon as he exhaled, he slowly shook his head, "I'm fine, Mark. I just... have a lot of things in my head right now."

"Is it because of what happened?" Mark placed both his hands on of his friend's shoulders, turning his head to one side as if a curious child seeking for answers.

"I'm gonna relax in my room, Mark." Tyler opened his eyes and rubbed his temples, "This day has been stressful, who knows what might happen tomorrow."

He broke free from Mark's grasp and walked away.

"But-" He followed Tyler with his eyes as he stood there frozen.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mark." Tyler said without looking back at him.

That was the time Mark felt his own body feeling like jelly. Out of the three of them he had the most grueling experience from their mission back at the warehouse, it was probably time to at least give it a rest before continuing their job. He somewhat brushed most of it off and decided to search for answers tomorrow.

_________

He went to his temporary room provided to him by the Brighton division, his personal effects had been brought there while they were on the mission. As soon as he had stepped in, he caught sight of his shattered phone on his nightstand.

Then it came to his head. Oh God, Amy must hate me by now.

He rushed to the cordless phone on the table and dialed his girlfriend's number, his heart racing as he did so. He sat on the edge of his bed, feet tapping on the floor.

"Come on, Amy, pick up." He mumbled to his phone as he was now walking in circles, patiently waiting for the dial tone to end.

"This is Amy, leave a message!" Her voicemail answered.

"Amy? Amy! Baby? I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for ever lying to you, I'm sorry that I did not tell you everything I knew." He said, words piling on top of each other as a single tear rolling down the side of his bruised cheek, "My phone got busted. Please call back."

He then ran to his laptop and left her a message on their Twitter chat, also having a lot of 'I'm sorry' in them. He also sent her an email.

But as soon as he had opened his inbox, he noticed he had one unread email, highlighted by the bold lettering and the blue dot to the left of it. The title of the email had the letter in all caps saying:

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

Thinking that it was another mission, Mark clicked on the email. As soon as he had opened it, there was no included message, just a single video file attached with it, the thumbnail black and only labeled as:

For Agent Bumbum

Mark rolled his eyes and groaned at the sight of his crappy agent name. I should consider changing my name to something more badass. He thought. He clicked on the video which immediately loaded the default player on his computer.

For what seemed like five seconds of pitch black, it was followed by the video itself glitching, cubes of pixels forming everywhere until it patially settled and projected a vague black and white image of a man standing in front of a black backdrop. A few more seconds into the runtime, the distortion finally cleared.

And Mark's stomach lurched.

It was a video of a man in a grey suit, hands behind his back, sporting a wide sinister grin on his face as his thick bright red hair flowed down one side of his face.

It was a video of a man in a grey suit, hands behind his back, sporting a wide sinister grin on his face as his thick bright red hair flowed down one side of his face  
"Did you miss me?" Dark said in a low growl, his voice echoing. Some parts of the video were still glitching as red and blue off center outlines of the man shuffled, making it difficult to look at him directly.

Mark sat there petrified, chills running down his spine.

"How rude of Felix to not invite me to your little celebration." He shook his head, teeth clenched, "but do think you can get away with the MacGuffin? You think it'll be that easy?"

The agent's hands trembled.

"You've had your fun. But no more... never again." Damien continued, as the camera flash cut to a blurred close up of him, "It's my turn now." That left a lasting echo in the video.

"You see, I'm quite a reasonable guy, and we can settle things without violence  
"You see, I'm quite a reasonable guy, and we can settle things without violence." He said as he adjusted his suit and sighing loudly, tilting his head to one side and crackling his neck, "and for that, I wanna make a deal with you."

What deal? Mark said to himself.

Damien stepped closer to the camera, his face almost covering the entire frame, staring into it as if he was actually staring at Mark."It's simple, the usual bad guy move: the ruby in exchange for a life of the person you love."

Mark's heart leapt to this throat, his hand tightly gripping the cordless phone.

His fears had been realized.

"No."

"Whatever happens, Mark, I'm always a step ahead." Damien flashed a half smile.

Mark couldn't move.

"Meet me back at the pier in one hour with the ruby - or the love of your life dies. Come alone."


	20. A Date With Darkiplier

The moment the video had ended, the YouTuber frantically slipped his leather holster back on and covered it with his navy blue jacket. For a second there he actually thought he'd be out of those sweaty and dirty clothes and in a more comfortable, loose tighty-whities and pajamas. But no, now he's wearing them again, and his troubles were definitely far from over.

It was past nine in the evening when he checked his watch, seeing through his glass window that the sun was slowly sinking beneath the horizon and the bright moon now taking its place in the sky. His room was at least five stories from the ground, but he could see the bright colorful flashing lights of the pier in the distance, just south of the city.

With only less than an hour left to get to the pier, Mark dashed outside, his pink mustache gun in its holster and five extra rounds kept in the extra pockets of the leather strap. He was so stressed out that he did not bother to shut the door to his room.

Mark felt helpless, no one could save him, he could not tell anyone about it. He was caught in a predicament, both outcomes would either have his girlfriend or the human race dying. His rapid beating heart pounded through his chest, he felt like any time he would collapse and have a severe breakdown.

"Bumbum!" He heard Felix's voice behind him. And he still shuddered at his name.

Mark bit his lip and turned around, "Yes, K?" He croaked, doing his best not to look and sound agitated.

"Going somewhere?" Felix walked up to him, his eyes scanning him from head to toe noticing his outfit.

"Uh... I was gonna go jogging around the block, heh." The agent shrugged.

"Oh, night jogging, I see." K nodded, his hand digging in his pocket and taking out the TBT figure, "Would you do me a favor and take this Bob and Wade? I know I should've brought it to them but, y'know, Marzia needs me home by ten."

"Okay." He held the figure in one hand, fingers wrapped around them like they were tentacles.

"Thanks, buddy." Felix smirked, walking past him and going down the hall that turned left to the main staircase, "Go get a decent sleep and we resume the mission tomorrow." He said, his voice gradually growing distant.

"I will." Mark said with a smile.

Mark looked down at the box in his hand, his thoughts still in a jumble of emotions. I have the ruby in my hand, what do I do now?

However, realizing he had no time to spare, he sprung into action, stuffing the figure in his pocket and going through the dimly lit corridor that had a small balcony to his left, and room to his right.

In his peripheral vision, there was a man standing in the balcony.

"Mark?" Tyler's deep voice called for him.

He stopped dead in his tracks, but he turned to face Tyler who had just stepped inside.

"T-Tyler, what are you doing out here?" Mark cleared his throat.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing, Mark." He said flatly.

"I-I'm going jogging." He lied.

"Alright, just watch your back, man."

"I will." Mark waved him goodbye.

He burst out of the front door. "Taxi!" Mark yelled, his hand raised up as a white taxi with a distinct baby blue painted hood and registration markings pulled up to the road beside him. The driver rolled down his window, tipping his hat as a greeting.

"Where to, sir?" He asked politely, most of his facial features obscured by the darkness of the night.

Mark practically yanked the door open and hopped inside, "To Brighton Pier, please."

"What a coincidence," He took off his hat and let his slicked back blonde hair flow freely, he drew a gun and aimed it at Mark, "because that's where I'm heading too."

Fuck.

Mark gasped at the sight of the man recognizing him as the bumbling goon leader.

"Don't try anything stupid, Mark. Give me your gun." He grinned, his free hand extended outward demanding for the agent's gun. "Come on, you don't wanna keep Dark waiting."

Mark gritted his teeth, as he pulled out his gun from the holster and handed it to the man.

"Hmph, no wonder I couldn't shoot you with this," He observed the bright pink gun, "-those clever bastards." He then hid it in the glove box and prepared to drive, "Sit back and enjoy the ride, Fischbach. You have A Date with Darkiplier."

_________

Mark was yanked from his seat by the other goons and was hurled to the ground, his face and chest hitting hard concrete first before the rest of his body. A sight which caused the men to laugh.

"Not to tough now, eh?" The leader said, his fingers making its way to Mark's collar and pulling him up, "Although, I have to say that you've made the right decision."

He was led down a flight of stairs ending up where the beach was, walking underneath the pier, into the place where Mark could see nothing but reinforced steel beams that supported the pier. He kept walking, hearing his feet press into the wet sand and the waves crashing along the shoreline. Mark glanced at the horizon, seeing the moonlight being reflected by the ocean giving it an amazing view. It was an otherwise calming atmosphere to such a tense scenario that was currently unfolding.

But it was all cut short when a pair of headlights flickered in front of him, the light was bright to the extent that it could've blinded him. Mark winced and shielded his face with his arm.

It took a few seconds for him to adjust to the new light, and that was when he saw a man standing just to his left, the light shining in such a way that it only lit half of him, casting shadows in every creases in his grey suit and every contour on his face. He had a proud smile on his face as he brushed his red hair to the side.

"Damien." Mark said, watching the rest of Dark's men stand behind him and leave him on that side like a pack of hyenas cornering their prey.

Dark narrowed his eyes, "I didn't think you'd plan to show up."

Mark balled his hands into a fist, "Well, you wanted me here... so here I am."

He guffawed, "Ah, people do the craziest things for love. And I say you must love Amy a lot to do this." He paced around, hands behind his back.

"Boss." The leader handed him Mark's confiscated pink gun. "This is the only weapon he had on him."

Damien removed his hands from his back, and reached out for the pistol. His right hand was heavily bandaged after Mark had smashed a snow globe into it.

He examined the gun, raising it up to the light, "Huh, Bob and Wade are one creative people, who could've thought they'd come up with this gun?"

"Enough with the fucking chit chat, God, you remind me of me." Mark erupted, looking deep into Dark's eyes, "I have the fucking ruby, now where is Amy?" The agent dug is hand into his pocket and took out the TBT figure.

Dark froze for a second before cracking a smile, "Very well, Fischbach." He raised a hand and gestured at his me, they went to a van and pulled out a person who had a bag on their head.

"Amy?" Mark stammered.

"As requested, here she is." He glanced at his men then at the hostage before doing a double take. His eyes grew wide, "Wait a minute."

As the captive was shoved into the middle, Mark was able to make out the built and complexion: lean built and pale skin, and it wasn't even a woman to begin with, it was an adult male wearing a plain black shirt and black ripped jeans.

"Hold on a sec." Damien yanked the goon leader to his side, "Who's this?"

Damien grabbed the hostage's arm and pulled off the bag. It was a man indeed, he had a scruffy beard, ocean blue eyes, and neon green hair.

Jacksepticeye.

"SEÁN?!" Mark blurted out.

Seán McLoughlin stood between the two men, hands tied behind his back, head turning from side to side, looking at Dark then at Mark. The look on his face were a mix of confusion and fear.

"M-Mpphh?!" Jack whimpered through the scarf stuffed into his mouth, "Wh-th's gnnhh unhh?!"

Dark was seething as he slowly turned his head to the leader, his hand tightening the grip on the hostage's shirt, "You... fucking... kidnapped... Jacksepticeye?!"

"You told me to kidnap Mark's lover!" The blonde-haired leader said in his defense, hands poised to protect himself.

"I FUCKING MEANT AMY NELSON! NOT JACKSEPTICEYE!" He hurled the bag to the ground in a fit of rage.

"B-but boss," A goon spoke up, "Th-this man is Mark's boyfriend!"

"WHAT?!" Seán's high pitched squealed despite having a gag over his mouth, "Yuhh guthu be fookin' jukkin!"

Mark was confused as well, he stood there like a log watching the argument unfold between Damien and his men.

Dark rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing in frustration, "Where did you get that information?"

"We looked him up on Tumblr." The man shrunk.

"TUMBLR?! FUCKING TUMBLR?! THAT'S WHERE THE SEPTIPLIER SHIPPERS ARE!" Dark yelled even louder.

"Yeah, that's what they call the two of them: Septiplier." The leader added, "and we've heard a bunch of girls screaming 'Septiplier Away!' back there earlier!"

"Jesus," Dark groaned loudly, "Thank God I don't pay you guys as much, you guys are morons."

"But we're your morons!" The men said.

Mark tried to hold back a laugh, a curve forming in the corner of his mouth.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Dark shouted, pulling back Seán and wrapping an arm around his neck trapping him in a chokehold.

This snapped Mark back into the situation. The Irishman struggled, whimpers coming from his mouth only to be stifled when he felt the barrel of the pink gun press under his chin.

"Don't kill me!" Seán yelled.

"I suppose he'll do, Mark." Damien hissed, "Give me the ruby, or Jackaboy here pays for it with his life!"

"Okay! Okay!" He took out the Tiny Box Tim figure and unlocked it before pulling out the small ruby, its red hue further visible from the lights that reflected off of it.

"Slowly." Damien held the back of Seán's shirt and shoved him forward, slowly taking steps behind him, "Give me the ruby and you can have your Senpai." He taunted.

Seán rolled his eyes, mirroring the same expression Mark did. The agent extended the hand holding the ruby outward while he approached Dark, also taking one step at a time.

Damien's heart raced with anticipation as he watched the ruby draw closer, his eyes fixated on in all the while keeping his grip on Seán. Mark's chest pounded with anxiety seeing the distance between them grow shorter.

"Jack, stay calm." Mark said, Seán's shirt now almost within his reach. He could grasp him any second now.

Mark and Damien got a hold of Seán and the ruby at the same time, respectively.

"I'm sorry, Mark." Dark suddenly pulled Seán back and threw him back to his men.

It happened so quick. A flash and a deafening bang. The bullet punctured his right shoulder and lodged itself, and Mark felt his tendon rip. He was blasted backwards, receiving the full force of the gun being fired at a point blank range.

"MARK!" Seán bellowed.

Mark hit the ground hard. It was then when the pain kicked in. He felt the burning pain in his shoulder surge down his right arm, blood oozing from the wound. Seán's cries were muffled, overshadowed by the high pitched ring that tormented his ears. The agent rolled on the ground in agony, clutching his arm that barely felt anything.

Mark was whimpering, tears escaping his eyes as he looked up at the towering man that he once considered as a friend.

"I'm so sorry it had to be this way." he heard Damien say, lifting up the gun and going for his head.

"Damien... no!" Mark shielded his face, sobbing, "Please."

"I'm sorry."

A man suddenly jumped in front of Mark, opening his umbrella that blocked the bullet and send it ricocheting away from them.

"MARK, COME ON!" The man yelled, pulling him back up to stand and dragging him away as more of Dark's men fired at them only for their shots to be stopped by the umbrella.

"FUCK!" Dark yelled.

"T-Tyler?!" Mark mumbled, recognizing the voice, stumbling while they escaped. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"We can talk later, right now we have to move!" Tyler shoved him up the stairs, putting the umbrella behind his back.

The gunshots suddenly stopped. It was followed by sounds of the vans revving and driving away. 

"J-Jack! Damien still has him!" Mark said groggily as he made his way up the stairs.

"Go! We have to get you out of here!"

Once they had reached the parking lot, Mark dove in the backseat and Tyler took the wheel.

"They both have the ruby and Jack." Mark said defeated, hissing in pain as he looked down on his bleeding wound that stained his blue jacket crimson.

"You shouldn't have done that, Mark!" Tyler said, driving as fast as he could. The driver took reached for the glove box and let the lid drop down. He took out a roll of bandage. "Here, put pressure on that."

"I know! And I'm so stupid for doing that!" Mark tore a piece of gauze and pressed it on his wound, hissing loudly when he did so.

"But it was a brave thing to do, Mark. Not smart, but brave. I don't think I could've done such a thing." Tyler said, turning the van left.

"What do you mean?" Mark asked.


	21. Stone-Faced Tyler

   The rest of the trip went quiet, Tyler did not even bother to answer Mark's lingering question. Mark was patched up and then discharged from the hospital in a matter of hours. And before they knew it, they were pulling up by the front door of Bim Trimmer's building.

The engine let out one last roar before dying down, along with the headlights gradually fading out. Mark realized that it was in the wee hours of the morning, the skies were in a blue hue lit by the rising sun. 

Tyler pulled the keys out and rested an arm on the wheel, turning his head to look at Mark.

"How's your arm?" He asked, only half of his face illuminated by the streetlights outside. 

Mark saw a hint of sadness in Tyler's blue eyes, a rare instance since he was always poker-faced - or Stone-faced as Mark dubs him.

"It still hurts a bit." Mark replied staring down at his right arm that was supported by an arm sling. He barely felt anything below the bullet wound in his shoulder, feeling minor pangs when he tried moving his fingers. 

Tyler gave a weak smirk and nodded.

"Thanks for saving me back there." The YouTuber added, smiling, "How did you know I was gonna go to the pier?" 

   Tyler chuckled, "Heh, first of all, you said you were just going jogging - why the hell did you hail a cab right after stepping out of the building?" 

   "Ohh." Mark's eyes grew wide, he shrunk in embarrassment, "I should've been more subtle, eh?" 

   "Yes. And second-" He held up two fingers, "Felix knew Dark would attack you right in the heart by kidnapping the person you love... Er, what his men thought was the person you love." 

   Mark sighed, thinking about Seán who was randomly pulled into this clusterfuck of a mission. He shook his head, "W-wait, Felix knew?"

   "Yeah. I placed a tracking device under one of their vans so we will know where they're going." Tyler smiled, bringing out a small, pen-shaped device with its tip blinking red, "Dark thinks he's two steps ahead but in fact, we're also on the same step as he is... you get the point."

"Clever guy." 

He glanced at his watch, "Well, Bumbum, we should probably call it a day." He said avoiding Mark's gaze as he turned to face the door.

"Hold on, man." Mark spoke.

"What is it?" Tyler replied, looking back at him over the shoulder, hand already on the handle.

"You never answered my question." Mark sat still on his seat, staring at Tyler.

"What question?" 

"You know what question it is, Ty." He furrowed his eyebrows, "You're just avoiding it." 

"Goodnight, Fischbach." Tyler pushed the door open.

In an instant, Mark grabbed Tyler by the collar and pulled him back in the car with a powerful tug. 

"For Pete's sake, Tyler! Just tell me what the fuck's going on!" He snarled, his voice amplified by the small space of the vehicle. "Ever since we got back from the warehouse you've been acting strange lately!" 

Tyler was as rigid as a statue.

"I know something's bothering you, and what Damien said had something to do with it." Mark said, his hand still grasping his friend's shirt. But he immediately realized this that he let go. "Just... c'mon, dude, tell me." 

   A single tear slipped out of his friend's eye as he stared out the windshield and at the road.

   "Before you were even brought in for training, Felix sent me to go after Damien." Tyler began, Mark sat there having a blank expression. "We almost got him in New Jersey. I had him cornered in his office, gun in hand ready to shoot," His voice faltered, "I fucked up, and he got away because of it. He was provoking me to shoot him, calling me offensive slurs, and it got to me, I dunno how but it did. It turned out he was stalling, stalling long enough for his men to break him out of there."

Mark's once expressionless face slowly turned into a frown.

"I guess I'm not as Stone-Faced as you say I am." Tyler sniffed, "After that Damien had moved forward with his plan. I blame myself for that, had I not given in we wouldn't be counting down to the end of the world."

Tyler was not crying, but his tone was shaky.

Mark sighed, putting a hand on his friend's back, "It isn't your fault, well... not entirely."

"What?" His head snapped at Mark quick. 

"I mean, you don't have to be hard on yourself for that." Mark shrugged.

"I never do anything right, I'm afraid of fucking up if I get back out there." 

"Don't be scared, Tyler. Everyone has a second chance at making things right." 

   "But what if I fail?" He mumbled, looking back into Mark's eyes, "What if I screw up again?" 

   "Three weeks ago you told me a simple phrase that has made a huge impact in me. And I've been using that to keep me going. Now, It's my turn to quote you quoting me," Mark placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze,

"Believe in yourself." 

Tyler looked down at his feet, biting his lip and nodding slightly. 

"I know it's so cliche, but you have to. Nothing will happen unless you make it happen. And believing in oneself is a very important aspect to it." Mark released his grip and turned to the door, opening it with his free arm and stepping outside, now feeling the cold breeze of the morning air. "We should get inside now, we should both get some rest." 

Apocalypto exited the car, locking it behind them as they went up the stone steps to the front entrance.

   Upon opening the door, they were greeted by Felix, who was in a casual attire, looking fresh as if he had woken up from a long, well deserved rest despite the time being four in the morning. He had his eyes on Mark then at Tyler.

   "K." Mark greeted. 

   "Boys." He nodded, placing his hands behind his back sporting a wide grin on his face, "So Dark thinks he's outsmarted us, eh?"  

   "You knew all this time?" Mark asked.

   "You've got a lot of guts, Bumbum. I knew you'd be perfect for the job." Felix turned around and walked up the main staircase. Mark and Tyler followed, "Of course I knew, do you think I'd give you that ruby that easy in the first place?" 

   They were now making their way back to the office. 

   "Tyler's right, we may have the ruby, but there's no stopping Dark from carrying out his grand scheme. Which is why I thought ahead, thinking of all possible outcomes that might happen after we've acquired the MacGuffin. Luckily, Dark went with the easier route: by holding someone for ransom. With proper timing," They stopped in front of Felix's office, the boss having one hand on the knob, "I had Ethan pick up Amy from the airport." 

   Hearing Amy's name had Mark's heartbeat going haywire.

   As soon as Felix pushed the door inward, Mark saw a blonde-haired woman sitting on the couch chatting with Marzia, sipping on a cup of hot coffee. 

   "Amy... Baby?" Mark's chest pounded with anticipation.

   Amy turned her head to his direction, practically jumped out of her seat and ran at Mark, flinging her arms around his neck and crashing her lips into Mark's. The agent wrapped his unbroken arm around her, kissing back with intense passion and longing, relieved that she was safe and sound. 

   She pulled away to take a breath, pressing their foreheads together.

   "I-I'm so sorry I lied to you, Amy. I-I did it to protect you. Please forgive me." Mark said, words piling one on top of the other.

  "It's okay." Amy replied, her fingers twirling the curls of his hair, "Oh God, are you alright? You're hurt!" She saw the sling around his shoulder.

   "I'll be fine, I'm glad you're safe." He breathed, a smile across his face. 

   They leaned in for a kiss again.

   "But seriously, you have a lot of explaining to do." Amy said, chortling. 

   "I know, and you better have a notebook to write it all down, it's very long story that it's probably at least twenty-one chapters... and counting." 

   They giggled.

   "But, we're not in the big climax yet." Mark added, "Dark's still out there and he has both the ruby and Jack."

   "Wait... Jack? As in Jacksepticeye?" Felix raised an eyebrow.

   "Yeah, apparently Dark's men not that bright." Tyler shrugged.

   Felix roared with laughter, "Jeez, I hate to be Jack right now." 

   "Which is why we need to get Damien, who knows what he'll do to Jack." Mark replied.

   Felix shuddered, "Hopefully not the fantasies of fangirls shipping Darkiplier-Jacksepticeye have." 

   Tyler and Mark cringed.

   "We're doing whatever we can to follow Darkiplier." Ethan said, pulling out a tablet that displayed a map of Brighton that had a single blip moving about, "That's his current spot, we'll be monitoring his movements for the next few days." 

   "Great." Mark praised.

   "We'll let you know if we find something unusual in his movements." The blue haired man said.

   "Oh, and Mark?" Felix spoke up. The YouTuber turned around and saw Felix by the doorway, "There's still one more thing I have to show you." 

   "What is it?" He asked.

   "You'll have to come and see." K motioned for him to follow. 

   Mark went after Felix as they went out and into the hallway, "What do you want me to see?" 

   "Just follow me. You'll find out soon once we get there." 

   "Could you please stop being so shady, K. My head hurts, I haven't slept in three days, I'm feeling woozy, and I've been shot. Why the hold up?"

   Felix rolled his eyes, stopping in front of a different room a little ways from where his office was. He swung the door open revealing a small room where a man was laying in bed sound asleep and lacking a shirt, instead having bandages around his abdomen that a small bloodstain in the middle. As if right on cue, the man opened his eyes, and wiggled his bright pink mustache on his lip. 

   "I'll be damned." Mark mumbled, meeting his friend's gaze.

   "Mark Edward Fischbach." Wilford spoke proudly.

   "William J. Barnum." Mark replied.

   Wilford slowly sat up, grunting, "Looks like we both took a bullet for Damien."


	22. A Message from Darkiplier

Mark could not believe his eyes, his lips cracking a smile seeing his old friend alive and well, "I thought you were..."

"Dead?" Wilford finished, before wheezing out a laugh, "I'm sure one bullet isn't enough to put down old Warfy here." He gloated, being the self-centered man he always was, "...except if he went for the head." 

The agent nodded. 

"So tell me, Mr. Markiplier," Wilford said, blowing on his pink mustache and flashing his friend a cheerful smirk, "What is our friend Damien up to now?" 

At that instant, Mark's heart sank. He slowly and nervously sat on the couch, feeling throbbing pain from the bullet wound on his shoulder as he did so. 

"I failed you, William." Mark hung his head low, "I let Damien take the ruby."

In Wilford's head was a jumble of emotions. He was furious, betrayed, and disappointed. But he kept his calm and laid back demeanor, inhaling deeply and releasing it slowly, the wound on his gut stinging when he did.

"What happened?" Will asked, clutching his belly, adjusting himself to sit on the bed and face Mark.

"Damien held a so-called loved one of mine hostage in exchange for the MacGuffin. I mean, I consider Jack as a loved one, but not that kind of loved one." 

"So he took your Internet boyfriend?" He rubbed his beard.

"Whoa-whoa!" Mark interrupted, "for the record, he is not my boyfriend. Only fangirls think we are a thing. He's just... a close friend who's in the wrong place and at the wrong time. Now I feel bad for the poor Irish potato, he's strung up somewhere God knows where while Damien is about to complete his master plan." 

"I see." He blew on his mustache.

"I'm sorry that I let you down." 

He was within reach that Wilford placed a hand on his back, "Aw, come on, I know that you failed me and you only have yourself to blame." 

Mark's head shot back up, eyes wide in surprise, "Gee thanks, Will, I thought you're gonna say that I shouldn't." 

Laughter came from Wilford, grinning, "That's not how I roll, Fischbach, you know I tend to make people feel worse."

"You always were the crazy one." Mark chuckled.

"And you were the ambitious one." He retorted.

"What brought us together, though? I can't remember." The agent leaned to his side on the edge of the mattress. 

"We were, I think, eleven or twelve years old when we shared the same Science class, and we had a lesson about outer space. And after that you wouldn't stop blabbering about a video game about space. I think it was called,"

"Homeworld." Mark said, a smile forming on his face, "It was one reason why I've grown to love the vastness of space."

"So did Damien and I." Will said, "One day you invited us over and we played that game for sixteen hours straight, heck, I think it was longer. Video games and the fascination of space brought us together."

Memories came flooding back to him, he turned his head and faced the window, staring at the morning sky that still had the stars twinkling above.

"You know," The agent said, his voice low, "Whenever I look up at the skies, it would give me with some sort of comfort, and that moment when you realize how small you are compared to the limitless universe." 

"And all three of us wanted to be astronauts, just for the heck of exploring the space in our own satellite." Will said. 

"I remember that time when we pretended to be one." Mark laughed, "Damien and I pretended that we were in zero gravity and I basically freakin' dived down the stairs and cracked my skull."

"Despite the pandemonium it caused, it was fun." Wilford remarked.

"Yeah. But my, how that bond crumbled to dust." Mark frowned, this phrase suddenly shifting the atmosphere in the room, "What on earth happened to us?" 

"We both have our own dreams and aspirations. It so happens that Damien sees the world as such an evil place." 

"But is wiping us out the right thing to do? It's as evil as he thinks the world is."

"You cannot blame him, Mark." The man said, "He's the hero of his own story." 

"I know." The agent replied, "Apparently I'm also to blame why he's like this way. I'd always antagonize him on his antics. Maybe I'm really that token good guy out of the three of us." 

"I wouldn't say that, though. What made you the most likable out of us three is that you see both ends of the spectrum, you know that there's good and evil, and you choose to emphasize the good." Wilford said, "I for one, just don't give a fuck." 

Mark laughed.

"But I realized," Wilford continued, his accent posh British, "Dark just wants to change the world."

   "Who doesn't?" Mark said, "All of us wanted to leave a lasting Mark, pun intended, that the people everywhere will remember us by. Come to think of it, we are not permanent, but it's what we leave behind in this little old planet is what lives on forever. Damien wants to leave his own mark." 

   "And they call me the deep one." Wilford said, "That was so deep I can see Adele rolling in it."

________

Bob and Wade were in the facility's control room, facing a giant screen that covered majority of the wall it was hanging on. Bob had his eyes glued on the tablet while Wade was continuously typing on the keyboard. Ethan and Tyler were also there, both of them having their arms crossed leaning on a desk as they looked up on the screen that displayed a GPS map of Brighton. The map itself was outlined blue that illuminated the room in a cool hue except for a red dot that was blinking and moving on the road.

Then Felix stepped inside, a cup of coffee in hand, "Good morning, boys." 

"Good morning, K." Ethan greeted. 

"Any news on our guy?" He asked, taking a sip of coffee. 

"He's been driving to countless places around Brighton since we've began tracking him, which was six hours ago." Bob said, adjusting his glasses on his nose, "He's currently at Taco Bell." He raised an eyebrow.

"A man's gotta eat, I guess?" Wade added.

"He also swung by an Adult shop earlier." 

"That kinky fuck." Felix shuddered. 

Then without any warning, the blip on the map vanished. 

"What the?" Wade said.

"What's going on?" Felix asked.

"We lost transmission from the tracker." Wade said, pressing a bunch of keys on the keyboard inputting codes to try and remedy the situation.

"Try rebooting the system." Bob said.

   "I can't." Wade replied, "I can't even control the device remotely." 

"Shit." Felix muttered, "We're fucked."

A large white popup appeared on the screen, shining on them it was almost blinding. The notification was in bold letters:

INCOMING MESSAGE

Bob gasped, "K, we've got an incoming transmission." 

   "From who?" 

   "Darkiplier." 

"What?" Felix turned, conflicted, his heart skipping a beat realizing that Damien must've one-upped them as they did with the tracker. With a trembling tone he said, "Let him through." 

Wade pressed a couple of keys and the wide monitor in front of them went static. And soon enough, a video of Darkiplier from his waist up standing in a black background appeared. Felix took a step back seeing the wide grin on the man's face as his eyes happened to look down at them. 

"Greetings, Pewdiepie." Damien began, his voice reverberating in the video, "How stupid of you to put your faith in others, let alone Mark. It's a grave mistake that'll bring forth your demise."

   K stood there unfazed.

   "And using a tracker? Please." Damien scoffed, "That's one of the oldest tricks in the book."

All of them stood in silence. 

Dark smirked, a soft chuckle escaping his mouth as he whipped his red hair to the side. "It is the beginning of the end for you and the entire human race, my friend. Watch as my grand scheme come to fruition, witness the skies glow red before all of you disintegrate to dust."

"He does talk too much." Tyler said.

"Tell me about it." Mark replied, who had just barged in the room.

"The end is here." Damien said before abruptly ending the video. 

   Mark looked at Tyler who had a shocked expression on his face. He saw fear in him. He then turned to Felix, who kept a blank expression, but the liveliness in his ocean blue eyes were gone. Silence filled the room, they were left staring at a screen that only had static. 

   "What now?" Ethan said, finally breaking the silence.

"We have to stop him." Tyler mumbled, "There's always a way." 

"Any ideas, Apocalypto?" K turned to face him, gently pulling on the hairs of his thick beard. "Any wild guess on his whereabouts? Huh?"

   Tyler did not respond.

   "I think I may have an idea." Mark interjected, still looking up at the monitor.

   "Where?" Felix asked.

"In space." Wilford interrupted, walking in the room, making the others turn their heads at him, all staring in surprise and confusion.

"What?" K raised an eyebrow.

   Mark's heart skipped a beat.

"You heard me, gentlemen." He said, mustache wiggling from his exaggerated accent, "Damien's death ray is up there..." he pointed up,

  "...in space."


	23. SPACE IS COOL

"In space?" Felix raised an eyebrow, staring at Wilford. Everyone in the room remained silent, gazing at the Wilford who walked in the room as disciplined as a colonel he once was, chin up and hands behind his back eying each and every one. 

"I believe you need to get your ears checked, Felix, you feisty man you." He said jokingly, "But yes. It's definitely up there, warming up for the big finale." 

"Jävla helvete." Felix sighed. 

"Wow, this went from Kingsman to Moonraker real fast." Ethan remarked. 

"What are we waiting for? We have to go after him!" Mark said. 

"Oh sure, Bumbum, we have all kinds of spaceships parked in our garage!" Felix turned to Mark, surprising him with his sudden outburst, "We have the USS Enterprise, The Jetsons' Ship, The Millennium Falcon, TIE Fighters, and if you want something the size of a moon: The Death Star!" 

   "We have a Death Star?!" Ethan's eyes perked up. 

   "FUCK NO!" Felix shouted, burying his face in his hands, "For Christ's sake, you people don't get sarcasm, do you?" 

   The blue haired man slowly frowned, looking down at his feet. 

"We're more than fucked... we're double fucked." K said, leaning on the table and bowing his head.

"If it'll make you feel better," Wilford placed a hand on the man's shoulder, squeezing it, "My friend the Silver Shepherd has a spacecraft." 

   "Who?" Felix's head bobbed up.

   "Boy, you really have to clean up your ears." Will raised his voice, as if he was in talking to someone in a very noisy party, "I said, my friend the Silver Shepherd has a spaceship."  

   "I know that!" Felix said, "I mean, who is he?" 

   "He's a superhero in a silver jumpsuit, mask resembling an alien with black beady eyes, and a hole cut out small enough to let his puckered mouth stick out." He recalled, "I suppose the Markiplier fans know him." 

"That's great but..." Felix stammered, his gaze going to the floor, "I can't send Mark and the others up there yet... they're not prepared for such a feat." 

"Felix." Mark interrupted, making the man turn to his direction, "This is about saving the world. So I'm ready to do it, even if we die trying. Besides, this is freaking space travel, and if there is a program for volunteers to go into space, with like... a hundred percent change of dying from death by space? I'd be first in line if they needed free volunteers." 

Tyler wrinkled his forehead, "Did you just-?" 

"Yes." He was immediately answered with a grin. 

"You can count me in, Felix." Ethan stepped up.

"Me too." Tyler said, standing tall and proud, "I believe it's probably time to get back out to field duty again and stop doubting myself." 

Mark looked at his taller friend who was sporting a smile on his face beaming at him. "You see? You got the whole team ready for action."

   Finally with what felt like forever, Felix grinned, "You boys never fail to impress me. And you guys should come up with a name for your team." 

   "If this mission to space goes well I suggest Guardians of the Galaxy." Ethan said, followed by a soft giggle.

   "You know we can't use that. Marvel would sue us." Tyler shook his head in complete disapproval of the idea. "The Troublesome Trio?"

   "The Jims?" Mark said. 

   "How about 'The Deadbeats'?." Wilford said, who was now sitting on the large office chair sipping on a wine glass. 

The men glared at him.

"What? I was just suggesting names since you gentlemen are doing it." He raised both of his feet on the table, putting one foot over the other. 

Mark and the others stared at the crazed man for a few good minutes.

"Anyway," Mark resumed, looking down at his right arm hanging by an arm sling. "We need to get ready."

He began wiggling his fingers, a mild sting running up his shoulder. He then bit his lip and bent his arm upward, his free hand slipping the elastic sling off of him. 

"What are you doing?" Ethan asked, watching curiously while also wincing, knowing that it would not end well.

"This thing will slow me down so it has to go." Mark grunted.

Tyler blurted out, "Mark don-"

But it was already too late. Upon removing the support, Mark stretched his arm outward but was immediately overwhelmed by the immense pain on the bullet wound that shocked his entire being, to which he responded with a high pitched squeal almost sounding like a helpless mouse.

"I-" Mark glanced at his two friends, tears welling in the corner of his eyes, "I... made a terrible mis-mistake." 

"You shouldn't have taken if off, man." The taller, curly haired man rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"But The Rock did it in Furious 7." Mark defended, fighting back the urge to bawl his eyes out in pain, teeth tightly gritted together, "And it looked badass." 

"That was just a movie!" Tyler argued, "A work of fiction!"

"Isn't this a work of fiction too?" Mark rebutted, dangling his arm that was half numb, the bullet wound throbbing. 

"But the writer doesn't play by the rules... most of the time." 

"That didn't go as I hoped it would." The agent hissed, his left hand supporting his right, face all scrunched up in the middle. "I'm a doofus."

"Good thing you know." Wade spoke, guiding Mark out of the room, "Come with me, I think we may have something to help your arm and make it functional for the time being." 

"Tyler? Ethan?" Bob said, "Let's get you suited up." 

"Go on, boys." Felix gestured for them to go.

"Copy that, K." The two agents said in unison, before heading out with Bob.

"Be careful! Don't get your heads blown up from the lack of oxygen!" Wilford said, putting emphasis on the blowing up part.

"What is wrong with you?" Felix narrowed his eyes, staring Wilford down who responded with a wide and playful smile, his pink mustache wiggling.

William shrugged, sipping on his wine, "I dunno... maybe a lot?" 

————-

Mark was fitted with a device that was made from a series of gears and steel bars, designed to wrap around the entirety of his injured arm down to the palm. This somehow alleviated the pain he felt when moving the extremity and helped him in doing so.

"All good?" Wade asked, tightening some of the bolts and screws on the arm support. 

"Yeah. Thanks, Wade." Mark said, "I feel like the Winter Soldier with the bionic arm and shit." 

"Ha, good one." The man said, finally stepping back and admiring his invention, "Alright, we getter get to the lab, have you fitted for a spacesuit." 

"Great." He said, Wade's statement making his heart jump.

Wade led Mark back to the lab where they found Tyler and Ethan both wearing white shirt and white sweatpants, standing next to three bulky suits on full body dummies. The YouTuber never thought he'd be getting in one of those, stepping closer to one of the suit until he saw his face reflected on the helmet that had that golden yellow sheen to it. 

  He was smiling.

"Ah, Mark, you're here." Bob appeared, holding a clipboard in his hands. "Allow me to show boys the high tech stuff you'll be using when you get up there." 

   The trio followed Bob and Wade to the table. The first item was a disk-like device just as big as a palm of his hand, shaped like a frisbee and made of metal, with a row of buttons in the middle resembling the number pad on a keyboard, and above it was a single LED bulb.

Wade picked up the disk, "This is the most important thing you'll need. All you have to do is to put it on the main computer of Dark's satellite." He pointed to the tablet. "Bob had already preloaded the software you'll be needing on the Silver Shepherd's on board computer, which means one of you will have to stay behind and wait as two will infiltrate Dark's satellite."

The agents nodded. 

"Oh, and Mark?" Wade took out another pink mustache gun, "I made you another gun, and this time, I've attached the grappling pen to it so that it'll be easier for you." 

Mark took the new gun and it vibrated as soon as it sensed his palm close around the handle. 

"I've also made the lasers more powerful." 

"But what about the palm print? Why did it work when Damien had it?" Mark asked. 

"I don't have to answer that, do I?" Wade replied, "I think it's just a glitch in the program or maybe let's just let the readers speculate." 

"I like the second one." Mark smiled. 

"Good." Wade said, "You might still need this." He handed Mark the TBT figure, "It might come in handy. It expands into a giant rubber ball, remember?" 

   "Oh, right." Mark remembered.

"Ethan?" Bob came into view, "I made you this." He brought up a large gear made of metal, "This is a smart disc, it functions like a boomerang, it can inflict damage to whatever it hits depending upon how hard you throw it. Think of it as Captain America's shield." 

Ethan took the disc, and surprisingly it wasn't as heavy as he thought it would be.

"It resembles my logo." The blue haired man chuckled.

"Exactly." Bob grinned.

"What about me?" Tyler interrupted, a slight disappointment seen across his face, "Do I get something cool like that?" 

"You get this." Wade handed him a closed black umbrella. 

"Oh." The man frowned, "Another umbrella." 

"It's not just an umbrella, Apocalypto. You can flip people off when it's open!" 

Wade stepped back and opened it, a giant image of a hand with its middle finger raised was printed on top. 

Mark, being the immature and childish man he always was, was the first one to burst into laughter, not even bothering to hold back his deep voice that reverberated in the room. 

"I'm sorry. I'm a giggly bitch in nature." Mark wiped the tear from his eye.

   Ethan was grinning ear to ear, but Tyler just blinked rapidly in surprise.

"It's twice as durable." Wade began, "The stem is loaded with ten bullets, and the entire top can be fired like a grappling hook as well." 

   "I'll take it." The tall man took it off Wade's hands. 

   "Now, with all that set, let's get you fitted into your suits." 

_________

   They were now out on an open field, particularly an airfield, driving up to a silver-painted spacecraft that resembled NASA's space shuttle. Only difference was that it was on its own, it did not need a larger rocket to propel it through the atmosphere. The three agents were now in bulky suits as they rode a jeep, Mark being the most excited of them as he looked up at the ship that pointed vertically to the sky.

However, there was also fear in him, that fear of failure, and the growing anxiety of having to deal with Damien once he meets him. Countless scenarios were playing in the back of his head, the worst being him being forced to kill his old friend to save millions of innocent people. 

"Good luck, boys." Felix said through their radio, "We're all counting on you." 

"Thanks, K." All three of them replied.

Mark looked out the window and winced at the brilliant rays of the sun as it shone through the light blue morning sky, his heart still racing both by excitement and fear. 

I can't believe this is happening. He said to himself.

Amy was with him on the vehicle, holding Mark's hand even though he was wearing layers of padding. Mark still felt the warmth of her hand, and the tight grasp in some way calmed him. His attention was now shifted to her and was looking at her from head to toe, admiring the beauty that was his girlfriend.

The jeep came to a stop by the ship. And at the foot of it were Wilford Warfstache and the Silver Shepherd waiting for them. The agents stepped down and approached the two, their movements slightly hindered by the bulky suit.

"There they are." Wilford remarked, "The Deadbeats." 

"Very funny, William." Mark sighed, hand still intertwined with Amy.

"Please return the ship in one piece, men." The Silver Shepherd said, his lips still puckered and sticking out of the small hole in his mask, "I use that to fight crime."

"You got it." Tyler assured, taking the key from the superhero's hand.

"Mark?" William said.

Mark turned to face his friend, "Yeah?" 

"Do me a favor and take pictures for me, will ya?" The man said.

"You got it." The agent replied, pulling him into a hug. 

"Godspeed, Markimoo." Wilford said before stepping back.

The YouTuber then looked down at Amy who was holding his helmet and staring at him with a grin on her face, blonde hair flowing in the wind, brown eyes made more visible by the rays of the sun. Mark was noticeably taller than her from the suit he was wearing.

"Well..." Mark gulped, "This is it." 

"I know." Amy said, giggling, "You get to go to space and make your dream a reality."

"Thank you for being there for me - even if I lied to you about all of this crap." 

"Go get him, spaceman." Amy laughed, lifting the helmet above Mark's head as the latter bent down slightly.

"Wait." Mark stopped her, "One more thing." 

He suddenly lifted her off her feet and kissed her. And they could definitely tell that the other was blushing profusely.

After that, Mark put her back to the ground, "I'm such a lucky dude." He smirked. Amy chuckled as she slipped on his helmet like she was performing a coronation. 

The three men climbed aboard and strapped themselves in the seats that were facing up. Tyler and Ethan took the two main pilot seats while Mark sat behind them. As soon as they had started the ship, the screens on the cockpit lit up. 

"Launching in T-minus twenty seconds." Bob's voice came from the radio.

"This is happening for real." Mark said, "I can't believe it." 

"Me either." Ethan replied. 

The Korean-American took in the moment as he looked outside, seeing nothing but the clouds and the blue sky up front, to his right was the Brighton skyline while to his left was the mountainous terrain. His mind was still unable to cope with what was happening. 

This is really happening. Holy shit.

"In three..." Bob counted down.

Tyler pressed a series of buttons that ignited the boosters. They could only hear the muffled sounds of it roaring to life.

"...two..." 

Mark's toes scrunched in his suit as he felt the entire ship begin to tremble. 

"...one... BLAST OFF!"

Then there was a deafening sound of the rockets igniting, firing white hot flames on the ground making the entire cabin shake more violently. It was not long before they felt the ship move up opposing the earth's gravity as it shot up through the sky. 

The trembling was still prominent, Mark felt his insides being jumbled around, his face was being pressed to the back of his helmet, skin flapping wildly like jello. His eyes were narrower than usual, caused by the force pulling them down. 

"We have liftoff." Bob announced.

But through his partially closed eyesight, he witnessed every moment: the ship passed through clouds and the light blue skies gradually dimmed until he saw nothing but the stars twinkling in the distance. He did not realize that it took them almost three hours to leave the earth's atmosphere.

They now felt weightless, their arms flailed around, and the sounds of the rockets were now gone, stifled by the lack of oxygen in space.

It finally happened.

They were in space.

"We're in space." Mark said, the giddiness in him growing as he removed his belt and let his body float in zero gravity. "I can't believe it... we're actually in space." 

There were stars as far as the eye could see twinkling in the distance which might appear to be ordinary to anyone, but to Mark, it was more than breathtaking. His childhood dream had turned into reality, and he was loving every second of it.

The YouTuber swam around, but was looking out the windows of the cockpit, jaw hanging open, eyes wide staring in amusement. He felt like his heart would explode then and there from the joy he was feeling. 

He was crying tears of joy, his tears forming into droplets and floating away from him. He sniffed, mouth trembling as he cracked a smile, still unable to believe it.

Nothing could distract him from the vastness and beauty of outer space. His mouth was curved into a smile so wide he wouldn't even bother to acknowledge that his cheeks were starting to hurt. 

"Looks like someone's having the time of their life." Tyler said, who was looking at Mark swimming around the fuselage.

"Space." The agent mumbled, unbroken from his trance. "Space..."

"Uh, Houston, I think Agent Bumbum has a problem." Ethan joked. 

"Space..." Mark repeated, but this time pronounced with a tone, "...it's so beautiful."

"Yeah, I know." Tyler replied, "It's beautiful."

"The elegance," Mark continued, "The story of why."

"Okay... what the heck's going on?" Ethan asked.

Mark did not reply, he just rolled around, "I love space."

Tyler groaned, rolling his eyes, "Oh man, are you gonna break into a song right now?" 

"I knew he would," Felix's voice erupted from the onboard radio, "Which is why I had his song uploaded on the ship's radio."

A popup appeared on the small screen, displaying Mark's 'Space is Cool' Album art along with the usual play, pause, and rewind tabs. Tyler chuckled, reaching out and pressing play, and the speakers immediately blasted the opening beats of Mark's song. 

"Let the man have his fun." Tyler said with a smirk.

"OH THAT'S SO CO-OO-OO-OOL!" Mark sang, nearly failing to reach the note, pointing to the moon, "SO COO-OO-OO-OOL! I can't believe this is really happening!"

"OH THAT'S SO CO-OO-OO-OOL! SO COO-OO-OO-OOL! Oh it's so pretty!"

"So pretty!" Tyler and Ethan joined in.

Mark raised a hand up, pointing to the stars as he sang, "There are billions and billions of stars... Oh look!"

"There are billions and billions of galaxies..." The other two joined in.

"ALRIGHT!" Mark cheered, "There's nothing I like more than space..." He swam closer to the controls, eyes fixated on the fire rockets button, "So let's blow something up here... LET'S BLOW SOMETHING UP HERE!"

"WHOA... WHOA... WHOA!" Ethan panicked still in tune, blocking Mark from getting closer. 

"We can do that later once we get to Dark's ship." Tyler spoke, "Right now let's just jam to the music." 

"Okay." Mark said, switching back to his gleeful self and singing along.

"OH THAT'S SO CO-OO-OO-OOL! SO COO-OO-OO-OOL!"


	24. Markiplier's Space Odyssey

   Mark sang his heart out, proclaiming his undying love for space as he continued to float around the cabin, that was until he felt his stomach churn from all the spinning and his mind confused on which one was up or down. He covered his mouth and hurriedly swam to the lavatory, his dinner quickly rising to his throat. Mark slammed the door behind him and let loose, earning a wince from the two agents.

   "I think the man's had his fun." Tyler said with a sinister grin, hearing the loud groans and gagging. He reached for a button on the screen that had the word 'Gravity' on it and pressed it. 

   Anything that was floating around immediately fell to the floor. 

   "ARGH!" Mark's shrill yelp pierced their ears and it was followed by a loud thud, "TYLER, YOU ASSHOLE!" His throaty scream echoed in the compact room, "JESUS CHRIST, IT WENT BACK IN MY MOUTH!" It was followed by more puking and whimpering.

   Ethan and Tyler roared with laughter that it had them crying tears of joy lasting for a few good minutes.  

   "What? I don't want you losing your lunch. I'm just helping out a friend!" Tyler defended, the words coming in between his cackles.

   "FUCK YOU!" Mark screamed, "Oh God..."

   "We're almost there, boys." Ethan interrupted, causing Tyler to turn his attention back up front. Mark exited the lavatory with his cheeks stained with his lunch as he shot an angry look at Tyler, before joining the two and looking out the window. 

   They were fast approaching a huge space station, the cabin stretching long with a bulbous sphere with large glass windows on one side facing the earth. Two pairs of arrayed solar panels were on each side of the station, shimmering gold as the rays of the big yellow sun shone on it. The entire thing resembled a butterfly that orbited the earth. On top of the sphere had a large satellite dish with a center fed antenna. What made it clear that it was Dark's ship was the red and blue stripes running around the length of the body.

   "That's Dark's death ray." Tyler said.

   "How are we gonna get there?" Mark asked.

   "You don't need to worry about being shot down, guys..." Wade spoke over the intercom, "By some ex-machina circumstance, the Silver Shepherd's ship came equipped with a scrambler that will disrupt their signals and you will get there unnoticed." 

   "Thanks, Wade." Tyler said, steering the ship in tandem with Ethan below Dark's station then flying to its left side, stopping directly below the front left solar panels where they spotted a hatch.

   "Making a one hundred and eighty degree turn clockwise now." Ethan declared. 

   The rockets of their ship shifted to the right and blasted a controlled amount of boost, making them turn around as declared by Ethan, ending up with their nose facing the same way the space station's cockpit and giving them a view of the world.

   Mark was blown away by the view, he saw the beauty of the world. The ice white clouds dancing around the earth's atmosphere over a huge landmass that he realized was Africa, the majority of area still teeming with greenery untouched by men, surrounded by the deep blue oceans covered three-fourths of the planet. 

   The shook himself back to his senses and ran over to the ship's door where he pressed a button. Outside, a collapsible enclosed bridge extended out from the door and linked itself to the station along with four thick steel bars that emerged from hidden panels that fastened the place of the ship. 

   "Link successful." Mark declared.  

   "We're good to go!" Tyler unbuckled his seatbelt and joined Mark in the cabin, Ethan closely following him.

"Good luck, boys." Felix bid, "We're all counting on you." 

   "Alright." Ethan spoke up as they removed their suits and stripped down to their white pants and white tank tops. "As planned, I'll be staying here waiting for Tyler to plant the bug to the station's main computer and Mark will go and rescue Jack from Dark and hopefully retrieve the ruby as well." 

   "Got it." Mark said, putting on a pair of thick-rimmed, standard issue eyeglasses.

   "I'll be watching your every move through your glasses." Ethan added. 

   Mark stretched his arms, noticing the contraption that assisted his injured right. He had almost forgotten about it. He brushed if off and slipped on a brown leather jacket designed to keep his body warm from the freezing temperature of outer space. He also slipped on his holster underneath the jacket that housed his updated mustache pistol. Tyler on the other hand, also put on a jacket, armed himself with his new umbrella, and pocketed the device that would be used to disable the laser. He also kept three umbrella stems tied around his thighs that were magazines for his gun.

"Guys? Can you hear me?" Ethan spoke through their earpiece as the pair walked along the bridge. 

"Yeah." Tyler replied.

"Okay," the man sighed, "I'm now sealing the ship's door behind you... good luck." 

"We'll definitely need it." Tyler gulped.

"You ready to go?" Mark asked, turning his head to face his friend as they approached the hatch.

The taller man slipped on his glasses, "I volunteered to join you here, didn't I? So I'm more than ready." 

"Fine." Mark drew out his gun while Tyler reached out to open it, turning the wheel and slowly unbolting it. 

Both men felt the same grim sense of foreboding, their chest pounding wildly and their anxiety rising to their throats as the taller man pushed open the door praying that there would be no one inside. 

"Ready?" Tyler asked, one hand placed on the door.

Mark bit his lip, "Go for it." 

His friend shoved the hatch open, and they were greeted by nothing but an empty hall. 

   "Let's go." Mark pushed forward, sticking head into the corridor enough for him to see his surroundings. 

   The hallway was just like what he had pictured in his head: the floor was made of shiny chrome plating, the walls were of grey hue brightly lit by small bulbs on both side placed every few meters apart or so. It was something out of a Star Wars movie, almost mirroring the halls of the Death Star. 

   "We're clear." Mark declared, now letting himself in and facing his left. 

   Tyler went in after him, but he faced the opposite direction. 

   "I'm gonna make a wild guess and go through here. I think this may lead me to the cockpit and hopefully to Damien." Mark said.

   "Aren't we all making guesses right now?" Tyler replied, "But it's a risk we're gonna have to take. So I'm taking this one."

   "Be careful, Tyler." The YouTuber said, feeling his heart still throbbing nervously in his chest. 

   "You too." His friend replied, shutting the hatch behind them. 

   And with those words, they parted ways, Mark heading to where he believed was leading to the front of the ship and Tyler going to the back. 

   The agent approached with caution, silently making his way through the corridor where it splits into two paths, one going to the right, and one going straight. His senses were on high alert as he took glances behind his back then up front. 

   But it was when he looked at the floor and saw three men in red jumpsuits walking his way from around the corner. 

   "Shit!" Mark jumped and looked around then up, spotting a steel beam overhead. He took the chance and fired the grappling hook at it, latching itself on the edge. 

   With a push of a button on his gun the line was reeled in pulling him up the ceiling until Mark was able to grab on to it, a small space between the beam and the corner enough for him to squeeze inside. But he was not safe as he could clearly see his reflection on the floor.

   Stupid shiny floor. Mark bit his lip. 

   He held his breath praying that he wouldn't be spotted as he watched the men walk under him, one of them being the blonde-haired goon leader who was a step ahead of the other two heading to the back part of the station. 

   "Tyler." Ethan whispered into Mark's headset. 

   "What?" Tyler replied.

   "You've got three men coming your way." 

   "Noted." 

   Mark couldn't speak, or risk being spotted by the passing goons. He waited until they disappeared around the corner did he let himself down. 

   He turned around only to bump into a fourth henchman. 

   "HEY!" He shouted, sounding startled.

   Mark reacted fast and hurled his fist into the man's face, knocking him out with a swift jab into his face. He caught the unconscious man before he could hit the floor and dragged him into a corner. Mark then stripped the man of his clothes and wore it himself, the outfit being loose around his belly given that the goon was meatier than him. 

   He continued on his path until he found a large entrance to a much bigger room. 

  It was as big as a two story house, below were rows of people facing monitors, flipping different kinds of switches that could either control the death ray or the station itself. And up front was a balcony where he saw a man with fiery red hair in a red suit standing in front of a large glass window that overlooked the big blue planet.

   Seeing Damien made his blood boil. 

   "I see Darkiplier, Ethan." Mark said. 

   "And I can see you, Markiplier." Dark's voice came from the hallway speakers.

   Mark went rigid, but was quickly shoved into the bridge by a bunch of guards who had snuck up behind him. 

   "Hands on your head, Fischbach." One of the men said, taking the gun from him yet again. "Move." 

   The agent kept his eyes glued on Damien as the man turned around to face him, he was holding a tablet flashing Mark a wicked smile. 

   "Aren't you proud of me, Mark? I fulfilled our childhood dream of going to space." Dark said calmly, staring back into the YouTuber's eyes as he was pushed closer to him.

   "What do you want me to say? That it's poetic? That it ends where it all began?" Mark shot back, eyes wide and glaring at Damien.

   "Yes!" Damien pat Mark's cheek, "You know me, I like to make everything symbolic." 

   "Where's Jack?" 

   "Oh, your boyfriend?" Dark laughed, "He's over there." 

   He pointed to the other end of the place where four men held Seán at bay, still in his all black casual attire and still gagged.

   "What did you do to him?" Mark snarled.

   "Don't worry, man! I didn't do shit to him, I'm not that crazy to do what Septiplier shippers expected us to do. I'm more professional in my job." 

   Mark turned to his left and observed the earth.

   "Magnificent, isn't it?" Damien began, "Too bad evil had taken over." 

   "You'll never win." Mark said in a last ditch effort to threaten him.

   "Don't worry, Mark. Tyler won't be that much of a problem to my men. They may be  idiots but they're more capable than your coward of a partner." 

   Mark's breath hitched. 

   "Oh, and about Ethan," Damien grinned, "I made sure he'll be busy too. I have sent my best henchmen to have a little chat with him. I've recently given them an upgrade." 

________

   Ethan witnessed everything. That last sentence sent chills down his spine.

   "Fuck." Ethan mumbled, jolting up from his seat as if he had been woken up from a deep sleep.

   "Protect the computer, Crank. We cannot hack the station if it gets destroyed." Felix said, sounding a bit anxious now.

   "I know. You didn't have to tell me twice." Crank exhaled out of his nose, his hand reaching out for the disc-shaped gear in his customized holster.

   "But I didn't tell you twice." 

   "Just..." He groaned, his eyes rolling to the back of his skull, "... you know what I mean." 

   A series of loud pounding from the outer door made him jump.

   "Hello, Crank." A group of people spoke in unison from the radio.

   "Shit." Ethan stepped out of the control room, sealed the place up and rushed back to the hallway that linked the ship to the space station. He faced the nearby screen and looked at the camera feed of the place beyond the doors where he saw four men with identical features staring back at him through the video, all having an eerie grin on their faces, somehow bearing a striking resemblance to Mark.

   There was another loud bang, and four pairs of hands slipped through the middle and pried the door open with little to no effort, finally revealing themselves to him. 

   They indeed looked like each other, the only distinguishing factor were the colors of their shirts: Blue, Green, Yellow, and Red, but all of them had a big letter G printed on the front. 

 

  "Google got an upgrade, I see." Ethan mumbled, tightly grasping his crankdisc as the four advanced towards him.

  "Our primary objective is to answer questions as quickly as possible." The quartet said together, their eyes flashing red through their thick-rimmed eyeglasses. 

   "Okay, Google." Damien's voice came from the androids' built in speakers. Googleplier in turn replied with a familiar chime, "Tell Agent Crank here your secondary objective." 

   "Our secondary objective is to destroy mankind."


	25. Man Versus Machine

   Ethan backed away a few feet from them, doing his best not to show fear and worry, teeth gritted waiting for the four Google androids to make their move. Cold sweat dripped down the side of his face, he could hear his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He was the only one standing in their way, blocking the path that led to the cockpit.

"We have detected a potential threat that could interrupt the progress. It is our duty to eliminate it." They mumbled. "A trojan virus is trying to access the mainframe." 

   "You have to get through me." He said, with a degree of uncertainty. 

   Given that the Googles strongly resembled Mark, they were obviously leaner and bulkier than Ethan, he was like a twig compared to them, what made it more imposing was that they were most likely made of metal. 

   "Very well." They said. All four charged suddenly, their feet running in perfect sync.

   A lump formed in the agent's throat seeing it as a four against one showdown. But he quickly launched his disc at them, spinning in the air. 

   Only for all of them to duck and miss it completely.

   "Your weapon is useless against us." They threatened.

"Think fast!" Ethan said.

The disc returned, hitting Yellow Google in the back of its head and knocking it off balance, slamming to the floor hard. Ethan caught the weapon and ran at them, holding it like brass knuckles and uppercutting Green Google making a loud clang as metal collided with metal. He then used its head as leverage to throw himself onto Red's shoulders, wrapping his leg around the android's neck and throwing it to the ground with a flip.

He was ready to break Red's neck when saw Blue running past them and to the door. Ethan immediately released Red and threw his crankdisc again hitting its back. He ran to it and with all his strength pulled him back, the robot weighing more than twice as he knew what Mark weighed. 

Ethan proceeded to trap Blue in a chokehold, until he felt the strands of his blue hair being pulled back, agonizing pain soaring in his scalp. The agent inadvertently letting go of Blue, but his foot was able to snake around its foot and tripped it. He backed away screaming in pain, his free hand holding the arm that yanked on his hair; Ethan swung his weapon and hit what he could tell was the forearm, there was a sound of crunching metal. 

This released him and he spun on his spot, seeing Yellow's forearm bent in an awkward ninety degree angle. 

In the corner of his eye was Red swinging at him. Ethan bent backwards and watched its fist fly mere inches over his face. He sprang back up but Green hurled its fist into his gut, and it nearly made him lose his meal and earned them a wheeze. 

The agent fell to his knees grabbing his stomach, catching his breath after the oxygen was punched out of his system. He was then kicked in the back with brutal force by Blue, making him hit his face on the steel grates. 

He was on the ground writhing in pain, but was immediately picked up by Blue then hurled like he was nothing but a rag doll. Ethan felt the surge of pain when he crashed into the door to the cockpit, his body creating a minor dent to it. 

   He pushed himself up with trembling arms, his clouded vision spotting his weapon discarded on the floor behind the four androids. 

   "God, do I always have to get the worst injuries?" Ethan groaned, balancing himself as he stood, feeling the soaring pain all over his body. 

   "What do you expect from a man versus machine showdown?" Red answered. 

   "You cannot defeat us, Ethan." Blue said.

   "Step out of the way," Yellow added.

   "... and let us in." Green finished. 

Ethan balled his hands into a fist, "Over my dead body." 

   "Alright." The four said, their eyes flashing red again.

   "I immediately regret this decision." 

————-

Tyler found his way to the entrance of the station's computer. Inside were rows of massive computers that were so large that the top of almost touched the ceiling, they resembled bookcases in a library, with each section serving a special purpose in the entire vessel.

   "Tyler." Ethan's distorted voice spoke through his earpiece.

"Yeah?" He replied, stepping inside.

"You've got three men coming your way." 

"Noted." Tyler held his umbrella at the handle and at the body, aiming it like a gun. 

He scoured the area, taking the first aisle to his left seeing countless buttons and LED lights blinking so bright that it was like a disco in there. The lights were mostly yellow, red, and green. 

   "You have to find the main computer." Wade instructed. 

  "Got it." The agent said as he took out the disc-like device from his pocket, still looking at the panels and circuit boards, eventually spotting a bundle of wires on the ceiling going out of the columns and leading to the opposite side. 

He decided to follow it, being learned from the countless spy films that a bunch of wires would obviously lead to the supercomputer. It was both cliche and the usual layout of hundreds of nodes connected to the master. 

Tyler ran, taking quick behind his back until he emerged on the other side. The wires curved right and it led to a door at the end. 

"I think I found it, Wade." Tyler said, still checking left and right only to be distracted by a blue button on the second aisle. It stood out among the others as it was the only blue in the room. Below it was a small screen that bore the words:

GRAVITY: ENABLED 

He shook his head and proceeded to walk towards the room when suddenly, the blonde haired leader blocked his way and fired a shot at him. Tyler jumped and ran for cover behind the corner but saw two more men coming for him from the opposite side of the aisle. 

He clicked open his umbrella deflecting the bullets and simultaneously flipping them off with the middle finger printed on the outside. The shots bounced off the shield and hit the computers which, to his surprise, was bulletproof as it prevented the bullets from passing through and damaging the circuitry.

   Tyler pressed a button and the entire inside of the umbrella went transparent, he was now able to see them. He crouched to not let his legs bet hit and aimed at the first man and pulled the trigger, hitting the man squarely in the chest.

   He then aimed the second goon, effectively shooting his gun from his hands. With his adrenaline higher than he could've ever imagined, he retracted his weapon and spun on the spot facing the other side just in time as the leader appeared and unleashed a rain of bullets on him.

   With enemies closing in from both front and back, Tyler's mind was in a haze of panic, he almost forgot how intense the fights were. This was nothing like what happened back at Mark's house. He definitely had the upper hand there, but this time, this was different. 

   Suddenly he was tackled by the other guy, leading to the agent losing grip of the device and watching it roll under the space between the floor and computers. The man wrapped his arm around his neck. Tyler reacted fast and rolled both of them to the ground, ending up with him being on top of the man. He slammed his head back hitting the man in the nose but still he refused to let go. 

  Using the computers as leverage, Tyler walked up them and flipped himself over the man, breaking free of his grasp. He grabbed the goon's arm and twisted it to an impossible degree, hearing a crack and a shout from him. 

   Tyler caught a glimpse of the leader in the shiny floor running at him holding a steel pipe.  He sprang to his feet just as the pipe was brought down on him, hitting the injured henchman instead. 

   The agent backed away, now grasping his umbrella with both hands as the attacker advanced. He swung at him again, but Tyler ducked, who in retaliation jabbed the man's chin with the handle. But the leader was quick, he trapped Tyler's head between his armpit and elbowed the agent's back repeatedly.

   Sharp pain struck his spine, but he refused to back down. With both arms, he lifted the heavy leader off his feet and slammed him against the wall. Now free, the two men locked weapons. 

  The next thing Tyler knew was that the leader headbutted him, he felt his nose break and his vision go cloudy. The pain spread from his bleeding nose, as he groggily backed away.

   With Tyler dazed and injured, the leader charged kicking him in the chest and sending the agent crashing to a beam next to a column of stacked computers. Apocalypto slumped on the floor, now at the mercy of the goon leader. 

   "Dark was right, you won't be much of a problem to us." He stepped closer. 

   He scoffed as a response.

   "Even in the face of death you still manage to laugh." The man narrowed his eyes.

   "I find it funny because you're just standing there uttering insulting phrases instead of actually beating the shit outta me." Tyler wiped the blood from his nose, his speech slightly impaired.

   The agent had his umbrella mounted on his knee and fired at the man. The upper half of it flung open and shot from the handle with a length of rope linked to its end. This in turn hit the goon in the abdomen and launched him in the air, hitting a button. He saw a small screen beneath the button change from its blue tint to red, now indicating:

GRAVITY: DISABLED

It was then followed by the sounds of alarms going off and the emergency lights flashing red.

   Tyler sprang to his feet, eyes wide in surprise, "Fuck."


	26. Zero Gravity

   "You ever read that story about the Great Flood?" Damien asked Mark who stood in front of him, the latter having his hands held behind his back by the henchmen. The agent did not even attempt to reply, he just scowled at him. "A flood so devastating that it wiped out every living thing inhabiting the earth." 

"Let me guess," Mark sighed, blowing on the strands of his hair away from his face, "You're gonna use the death ray to melt the ice in the North and South Pole and cause a massive flood." 

Dark's men tore off his leather jacket and stripped him of his weapons, recovering the pink mustache gun, spare magazines, and the Tiny Box Tim figure which were all discarded on the floor between him and Dark.

"DING! DING! BINGO!" The man cheered, brushing his red hair back, "But! I'm not the one causing the floor, I'm just helping speed up the process, if you will. Because let's face it, humans have been polluting the earth since the dawn of man."

   "You're not God, Dark." Mark said.

   "I'm not trying to be one, but I can be one." Damien said, "I've seen the evil of the place we once called home." He pointed to the blue planet outside, stepping back and revealing a big red button on a pedestal, "It's time to press the reset button." 

Mark narrowed his eyes. 

"Get it? The reset button?" Dark laughed playfully.

   "I get it." Mark rolled his eyes. "You don't know what you're doing, Damien. This is insane!"

"Oh no, my dear friend, the only insane person here is you thinking that you can change people. I'm pretty much sane." Dark pursed his lips and clasped his hands together. "What's the status on the death ray?" He looked down below at the men working in front of screens.

"Ninety percent done, sir." A worker said. 

"Excellent." 

Mark's eyes scoured the place, looking at the ceiling above that had pipes and wires on them. The walls were cluttered with circuitry and gauges each serving a purpose in Damien's master plan. He was suddenly distracted by a shimmer of red on the wall opposite the large window, and there a few feet above them was a small ruby, placed inside a glass case held in place by wires and prongs that harnessed powers from it. 

   "Don't you just hate it when things take a while to load?" Dark sighed, scratching his head with his bandaged hand. 

   Mark then spotted the TBT figure on the floor. He replied with a grin, "Sometimes that short while is what a man needs." 

The agent swiftly dug under his underwear, his fingers pulling out a small remote between his buttcheeks and pressing the button.

The small figure on the floor blew up, inflating in a split second. 

Everyone within its radius were thrown across the room especially Mark and Dark, both of whom received the full impact of the bubble as it blew up to its size. The agent fell on his back on the floor, now free from the henchmen's grasp who were also with him on the floor groaning. 

"MARK!" Seán shrieked through the scarf around his mouth.

Mark sat up seeing the giant bubble roll over his gun, his heart wildly pounding in his chest as things happened so fast his vision was a blur. As he pushed himself up, he felt a stinging pain in his right shoulder, and upon checking it he realized that the fall had damaged the device that aided his injured arm. 

Dark was in a state of shock and anger as he groggily lifted his head. "You sneaky little shit." He said through gritted teeth.

Mark ran for his gun when the lights suddenly flashed red, and the loud wailing of sirens filled the room. Before he could even reach his gun, everything and everyone in the place not tied down began floating everywhere.

   "Shit!" Mark exclaimed, "Tyler, what the fuck's going on?!" 

   "I...uh... it was an accident!" His friend replied.

   "Ethan? Can you fix it?" 

   Ethan yelped from the radio, who sounded far from the radio, "I-I'm a bit busy here!" 

   "I still need to put the bug on the main computer." Tyler said before yelling as well. Mark heard a grunt from his side and followed by a series of thuds. 

   "Fan-fucking-tastic. We're settling this in zero gravity now? What an outrageous third act." Mark said, setting his sights on the pink pistol.  

He tried going after it, but Dark intervened, shoving the giant ball into Mark sending him and the gun flying in opposite directions, much like in a game of pool where the cue ball strikes the other pool balls. Mark was floating away, until he slammed into one of the men whose weight was enough to counteract his continuous drift. 

The agent got a grip on the railing of the balcony and held himself there, his mind trying to adjust which one was up or down as he searched for his gun the floated amongst the other people. More than a dozen people were in the air, panicking and yelling as physics took over, ending up with them in the air until they collided with one another. 

Meanwhile, as they levitated from the ground, Seán kicked off the floor and flew higher than the men guarding him. He brought his tied hands from his back to the front by going under his feet, now rendering him able to use his hands. By the time he had done that, he reached the ceiling, grabbing hold of the pipes there. 

   The Irish YouTuber removed the scarf around his mouth, "This is fuckin' insane!" He cursed, seeing the four men go after him.

  With the guards fast approaching him, he lifted both his legs and folded his knee. 

   "TASTE MY FOOT, BITCH!" He kicked as hard as they could, hitting two of them in the face and casting them aside. 

   He was grabbed by the remaining two but he refused to let go of the pipe, he swung his leg again, hitting one in the gut with his knee. But the last one wrapped his arms around Seán's torso, but with both of his hands still tied, he had think of something else. 

   "GET THE FUCK OFF!" He released his grasp from the pipe and elbowed the goon in the face, the blow both causing them to fly far away from each other. He slammed into the large glass window as the man went to the other side. 

   Mark watched Seán deal with the guards while he was searching for the pistol, his eyes grown big in surprise. 

   Okay, that was cool. Mark thought. 

   "Ninety-five percent, boss!" The man declared. 

   The YouTuber gasped and craned his neck back at the pedestal, where he saw Damien swimming to the red button. With a pained heave, he propelled himself towards his foe, the wound on his shoulder sending shocks through his body. Mark spread his arms wide and caught Damien taking him away from the center. 

   He slammed Dark against the wall and pinned him there. 

   "DAMIEN, STOP!" He shrieked, pleading. 

   "Pathetic." Damien threw a punch at him twice as hard as he would normally do, hitting Mark's jaw. "You think you can stop me?" 

   The agent spat out blood that formed into small red droplets, his still-healing face aching once again and bruising. He retaliated, headbutting his adversary. Dark let out a pained shriek as he clutched his bloody nose. Mark then planted both his feet on the wall, grabbed Damien's leg and hurled him to the middle like a rag doll. 

   With his opponent now drifting away from him, Mark went after him only to be grabbed by two of Damien's henchmen. They held him back, one even holding him on the mechanism around his arm. 

   "Let go!" Mark thrashed, but all attempts of escaping were proven futile. 

   They were startled by a high-pitched shriek coming from the ceiling. When they looked up they saw an angry, green-haired Irishman rushing towards them screaming his lungs out like he would in his videos. 

   "JACKABOYMAN TO THE RESCUE!" He cheered, bringing his fists in front like Superman.

  The instant Seán's fists collided with the two goons, Mark was freed, and it didn't stop there, Séan pinned them to the wall and punched them again. 

"I've always wanted to say that." Seán flashed him a smirk.

   "Thanks, Jack!" Mark nodded, switching his attention back to Damien who was swimming his way back to the button. "Oh no, you don't!"

   He intercepted his opponent's direction, both of them were now drifting to the ceiling further away from the pedestal, throwing punches and kicks at each other. 

________

"Ethan, can you fix it?" Mark's voice came from the radio on the cockpit. 

   Ethan's entire being shook when he was slammed into the wall of the spacecraft by the four Googles. He felt nothing but pain on his face, his lip was cracked, bruises on his cheek, and his left eye was swollen shut. 

He spat, hoping that Mark heard him, "I-I'm a bit busy here!" 

   However, he at least managed to do some damage to the androids: Yellow was missing an arm, Green lost a leg, Red had most of its hair burnt off, and Blue was missing a huge chunk of its face that exposed the metal endoskeleton and glowing red eye. 

   He gasped for air as Blue's hand tightened around his neck, the remaining three Googles heading to the cockpit and using whatever tools they had left in them to pry the three inch thick door open. 

   A wide smile formed on Blue's face, as if it was relishing in victory, tilting its head to the side observing the slowly suffocating Ethan in its grasp.

   "I told you, Agent Crank, you can't beat us. You just wasted your energy trying to hold us back." Blue twitched, its voice sounding gurgled, "Unlike you puny humans, We're always improving," 

When he said those words, he slowly lifted up the agent until his feet could no longer touch the ground, hanging freely and flailing. Ethan was hanging there defenseless, any second now he knew he would lose his consciousness.

"We're always upgrading," Blue said with a grin, his row of artificial teeth now visible, "but never losing sight of the primary objective." 

   Then it hit Ethan like lightning. 

   He wheezed trying to force out a word from his mouth, "Th-then I-I have a q-question for y-you."

   Blue's smile disappeared, and he gradually loosened his grasp. "Certainly."

   "What is your primary objective?"

   "My primary objective is to answer questions as quickly as possible."

   "Why?" 

   Blue didn't answer. It stood there frozen for a moment before the sounds of frying circuitry in its body had the android violently twitching and making weird, incoherent noises. The glowing G logo on its shirt flickered off and it released Ethan before falling down to the floor like a log.

   "Works everytime." Ethan cracked his knuckles.

   The other three all stare in horror at the sight of their dead clone.

   "Come at me. I'm feeling lucky." Ethan taunted. 

   The androids advanced, Red was now taking the lead. Ethan grabbed on the grills on the ceiling and hoisted himself up and over before dropping down behind them. He spotted his crankdisc on the floor and picked it up as the Googles spun in their spot to face him.

   "Red!" He called out, and the red android turned lifted his head up, "What is the exact value of Pi?" 

  "The value of Pi is 3.14159265358979323846 264338327950288..." Red continued to blabber the digits. 

   Ethan lifted his disc and with one powerful strike, it sliced the android's head clean off its shoulders. Two down, two to go.

   "Oh, I've got the best question for you two." Ethan smiled eyes darting at both Yellow and Green. "If a women has starch masks on her body does that mean she has been pargnet before?"

   The Googles trembled, buzzing and whirring could be heard from them as they spontaneously burst into flames, the fire melting their fake silicone skin. 

   Ethan wiped the sweat from his face, completely out of breath, finally relieved that the ordeal was over, "You may have upgrades... but you're still in beta."


	27. SKYFALL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya guys! I'm terribly sorry for not updating more than two weeks, I took that time to craft a Markiplier creepypasta story to enter it to a contest. Haha
> 
> So... let's get back to the chapter!

The sirens tormented Tyler's ears and the emergency lights were flashing like disco lights. Realizing what he had done, he scrambled back into the aisle with the intention of looking for the missing device he had dropped moments earlier. 

Before he could even start, he felt weightless, his feet began floating off the ground. Even the unconscious goons were now floating, bumping against the supercomputers and colliding with each other. 

"Tyler, what the fuck's going on?!" Mark's deep and confused voice spoke from his earpiece.

Tyler reached the ceiling, using his hands to navigate the place, "I... uh... it was an accident!"

"Ethan? Can you fix it?" 

Ethan yelped, "I-I'm a bit busy here!" 

"I still need to put the bug on the main computer." Tyler replied, pulling himself on the top of the aisle of supercomputers where he last saw the small disc. 

But not before the head goon lunged at him and pinned him against the wall. He grabbed a thick chunk of hair and bashed the agent's head on the wall. 

He yelped, pain soaring on the back of his head while the leader tightened his grip on his curly brown hair and repeated the action, causing Tyler's vision to blur and swirl. 

Tyler retaliated by wrapping an arm around the goon's neck, pulling him closer, and banging the man's face into the wall. The agent quickly kicked the disoriented man and let him float as far away as he could.

He felt the back of his head thumping loudly, he could've sworn a bruise was now forming on the spot. He was also struggling to regain his control and fighting the urge to hurl from the dizzying zero gravity.

Getting a grip on the wall, Tyler flipped himself upside down, he was now looking up at the station's floor and down at the ceiling. It was a sight that was both confusing and astounding. 

He started to crawl up to the floor also searching for his umbrella. 

However, the persistent leader pulled on his leg and whip him from the aisle casting him further away. 

"Not on my watch, bitch!" The leader said with a laugh.

"You gotta stop with the name calling and start punching, dipshit." Tyler retaliated as he floated away, getting a grip on the corner and sending himself back to the area.

The two collided, the man clawed Tyler's back while the agent threw punches at his adversary's gut, both of them spinning like a wheel at a dizzying speed. They were furiously trying to gain the upper hand, but they were evenly matched.

Then Tyler's back felt the corner, he used his feet to kick away from it and shove the man to the opposite side. He broke loose, the man's fingers leaving large and deep scratch marks on his back. He lifted a foot up and went for the man's head.

But it was grabbed again and he was slammed on the stack of computers in some sort of a wrestling move. 

In a stroke of luck, his umbrella was a few feet from him. He kicked the man's hand off of his leg and swam for it, getting it just in time and turning around to aim it at the goon.

"What are you gonna do, kill me?" The goon said, raising his arms up, "Or are you too much of a pussy to do it like you always have been?"

Tyler gripped his umbrella tightly, he tilted his head to one side, eyes narrowed.

"Go on, do it! If you have the guts to do so."

"You people need to work on your stalling skills," Tyler replied, "...they've grown a little stale." 

The leader's eyes grew wide.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna deal with these two morons sneaking up behind me."

In a swift action Tyler spun around in the air and faced the two other henchmen behind him. The agent launched the top of his umbrella at them and the line attached to it wrapped around the two. 

"Now, where were we?" Apocalypto scratched his chin, "Oh, right!" 

He then held on to the edge of the aisle for leverage and retracted the wire, bringing the men towards him. At the last second Tyler sunk down and watched the captive goons fly over him and hurl towards their leader, crashing into him then into the wall. With the men huddled together, he switched the setting on his gun, selecting the rope option. 

And when he pulled the trigger, a length of rope shot out of the barrel and wrapped around the three, tying them together back to back.

"Now, you three stay in the corner and think about your mistakes while I do what I'm supposed to." He gave the three a gentle push to the corner of the room and tied them there with a spare rope, "I'll be back and we'll talk about this."

Tyler reached the underside of the computers and began searching.

________

"BOSS! IT'S READY!" The goon bellowed.

Dark kicked Mark away, breaking free from his grasp and floating away, ending up with his back against the ceiling and hitting his bandaged hand on a beam. This caused the still-healing wounds caused by the shards of glass to bleed once again. 

People were still up and about, struggling as they continued to spin and float around as Newton's first law of motion took effect, nothing to stop their uniform motion unless an external force acts on them. Some even lost their lunch from the dizzying spin and the confusion which was up or down. 

Mark kept a cool head, his balance and orientation still in check as he grabbed on the railing and observed Dark crawling on the ceiling like a spider making his way down to reach the pedestal. 

With the pain in his shoulder soaring, Mark relied his weight on his left arm and hoisted himself up. Despite being weightless, he felt weakened, his heart pumping blood rapidly throughout his body especially his stitches. 

Damien hissed as every tight grip he made with his right hand, seeing blotches of blood forming on the white gauzes. He grunted, feeling every sting. 

It was a desperate race.

   The two men reached the pedestal and clashed once again, Mark wrapping an arm around Dark's waist and propelling them back to the center yet again and away from the button. 

   "You can't beat me, Mark!" Damien yelled, "I know every move you'll make!"

   He kneed Mark in the gut. Mark wheezed as Dark pulled him up to face him.

   Damien then pushed his thumb into Mark's bullet wound. 

   "FUCK! ARGH!" Mark wailed, feeling the thumb sink into his body, tears rolling down his cheek from the agonizing pain. His anguished moan reverberated throughout the room.

   Dark watched in delight seeing his foe screaming, his teeth clenched as he added more pressure, a dastardly giggle escaping his lips.

   But with one swift movement, Mark tucked Damien's bandaged hand under his arm and squeezed it tightly, earning a scream from the red-haired adversary. 

   Both men were at their weakest. 

   With what felt like an eternity of suffering, they let go of each other, Dark using Mark's body to kick himself away. 

   Mark hit his back on the railing and held on it to stabilize himself, seeing Dark now standing by the pedestal.

   "No!" He wheezed.

"Whatever happens, Mark." Damien said, his bloody hand hovering over the red button, "I'm always a step ahead of you."

He punched the button down with a grin across his face.

Nothing happened. 

Dark gasped, an expression of shock plastered across his face. 

"WHAT?!" He breathed, scowling at Mark who in response, had a smirk on his face.

"You guys fucking did it." Mark muttered under his breath. 

"You're welcome." Tyler replied from the earpiece. 

"WHAT?!" Dark repeated.

   Mark could finally see fear on Dark's face.

"That's your problem, Damien." Mark said with a grin, "You always underestimate other people and their abilities. You never believed that they could do it - but I did." 

Dark exhaled, he was like a mad bull blowing air from the nostrils. His hand squeezed the corner of the pedestal out of frustration.

"You may know my every move," Mark felt powerful, he was evidently dominating over his enemy, "...but you don't know our move." 

"Heads up!" Seán exclaimed, tossing Mark his mustache gun.

The agent grabbed it with his left hand, the handle vibrating the moment his calm came into contact.

"Bottomline is, you need friends, people who'll always have your back." He raised the gun as he floated.

He quickly aimed the gun at the glass box on the wall, and with his gun set to laser, he fired. A red beam shot out of the barrel and burned through the glass, hitting the equipment and circuits inside causing them to heat up and explode, shattering the entire thing and blasting the MacGuffin from its housing.

   "NO!" Damien screamed, seeing the ruby among the pile of debris flying from the wall. He kicked off the ground, directly going for it. 

The rest of his men came from every directions, going to a common endpoint that was the ruby. Not even caring what would come after. Seeing that he was the farthest, Mark looked around. There has to be something here that could help. He thought, before spotting a fire extinguisher.

   The others' progress were irritably slow, but they were continuously moving towards the middle. 

   It was until Mark came barreling through the goons with a fire extinguisher between his legs, using the pressurized Nitrogen as thrust to beat the men to the punch and knocking them away like bowling pins. 

   "That's what I learned from WALL-E!" Mark gloated. And with the MacGuffin fast approaching, Mark extended out a hand to reach for it.

   "Two can play at that game!" Dark came rushing at him, riding another fire extinguisher. The two men crashed into each other and were flung off course, the impact sending the ruby spiraling to the ground. 

   With the two floating away dazed and in agony, Seán propelled himself from the ceiling and dived for the stone. It was within a few inches from him, he never felt his heart pounding loudly in his chest as he reached out his hand to get it. 

   "I got it!" Seán yelled. 

   "Mark?! Mark!" Tyler yelled in from the radio, his screams enough to knock some sense back into Mark, "Get back to the floor! Ethan's switching the gravity back on!" 

   "WHAT!" Mark's eyes shot open, and he was, luckily enough, was drifting towards the wall. "I'M ON IT!" 

   He grabbed on a ledge when Damien snagged his foot and tried pulling him off the wall ending up being perpendicular to it. He tried kicking him off but it was no use against Dark's vise-like grip.

  "NOW!" Mark shouted before spotting Seán closer to the floor. He gasped. "TYLER, WAIT! JACK!" 

At an instant the feeling of weightlessness went away. Mark slammed hard into the wall with Damien, the latter bearing down on him causing a strain on the former's wounded shoulder. Seán yelped the second he hit the ground face first. As for the others, they fell at ten least feet from the ceiling, some breaking through the supercomputers and others hitting the bare floor breaking bones upon impact, a sound Mark thought he'd only hear from the movies.

   With the pain being too unbearable for him, the agent released his grip and both of them fell down, with Damien cushioning Mark's fall and was eventually knocked out cold. Mark scrambled to his feet and ran to the Irishman laying motionless on the floor faced down. 

   "JACK!" Mark flipped his friend over, seeing a bruise forming on the pale man's cheek, "SEÁN!"

Finally, he responded with a groan. Seán's eyelids slowly opened and his ocean blue eyes looked at Mark, "H-Hey m-ma! Maaaa! I'm in space!" 

Mark chortled, "Alright, you're good." 

"Wh-what happened?" He asked, Mark helping him sit up. "And why do I have the urge to vomit?"

"Let's just say you faceplanted going after the ruby." Bumbum replied with a chuckle before abruptly stopping, "Wait... where is the ruby?" 

He looked around, there was nothing but the reflective metal flooring. There wasn't even a glimmer of red.

Seán burped loudly, feeling a lump go down his throat, "I-I think I know where it went." 

Mark froze, the look on his face a combination of shock and disbelief. 

  "You gotta be fucking joking." 

"Nope." He shook his head, "It felt like the time I swallowed a Lego mini figure's head when I was five." He rubbed his belly, "It's down there alright." 

"I guess we have to wait six hours to get it, then." Mark sighed. 

"MARK, LOOK OUT!" Seán pushed Mark out of harm's way as sharp metal pole was brought down on them hitting the ground instead. 

A furious Damien turned to Mark, and tore off the makeshift spear from the floor and began stabbing away. The agent frantically avoiding the violent outbursts of his foe by pulling himself away with his hands.

"YOU. FUCKING. RUINED. IT!" Dark kept on jabbing, one attempt landing mere inches away from Mark's crotch. 

"Fuck! I need these!" Mark exclaimed, one hand grabbing his nuts. 

Damien pulled away and spun the pipe, one end of it smacking Mark in the face. The agent hit the ground with a whimper, his body had indeed sustained a violent beating. Dark weighed down on Mark with his foot and hovered his weapon over the the agent's chest. 

Suddenly Dark was blasted away by an umbrella.

"Mark!" Tyler pulled Mark to stand, "You okay?" 

"Thank God you're always there to save the day." Mark said, his eyesight blurry and spinning. 

"Where's the MacGuffin?" 

"Making its way down my digestive system." Seán said.

"We gotta get outta here." Tyler brushed it off and wrapped Mark's arm over his shoulder while Seán took the other side. "Ethan, can you hear me? We're on our way back." 

"Let's go." Mark said, finally regaining his balance and heading out with his friends.

________

They easily found their way back to the hatch linking the station to their ship. There Ethan was waiting for them, holding an ice pack on his head. 

"Let's go!" Ethan yelled, "Hurry!"

As they passed by a corner, Damien suddenly lunged from the corner, seizing Seán and mounting him on his shoulder.

"OH COME ON! ARE YOU FOOKIN' KIDDING ME?!" Seán bellowed as he was carried away, his angry and flabbergasted tone echoing in the halls. "WHAT AM I, A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS?!" 

"Stay here!" Mark told the two agents, "It's between me and him." 

The YouTuber went after Damien, eventually ending up back at the bridge where there were countless henchmen on the floor, writhing in pain from the fall they had sustained.

Standing in the middle were Dark and Seán, Dark having an arm wrapped around the Irishman's neck and holding a jagged piece of metal over the hostage's stomach. 

Adrenaline kicked in and Mark aimed his gun.

"Make one step closer and I'll fucking cut him open and dig the ruby out of his guts!" Dark threatened, his entire body covered with bruises and wounds as he used Seán's body as a shield.

Mark gulped, his grip tightened. They began treading around the oval balcony overlooking the computers. 

"You experiencing a little Déjà vu, Markimoo?" Dark said with a grin. 

"Please don't." 

"You took away the only way that can rid the world of its wickedness!" Dark said, his voice on the verge of crying. 

"I know you want to change people, but this isn't the way!" Mark replied, in a desparate attempt to bargain with his old friend. 

"What are you saying, Mark?" He bickered, 

"Bullshit." Damien said, "I'm fucking sick and tired of your bullshit, Mark!" 

Seán struggled, but Damien moved the makeshift knife to his throat. 

"Uh-uh, Jackie, one wrong move and you'll be gasping for air from the gash on your neck." Damien had his cheek pressed on the Irishman's ear.

Mark's already weakened state made it a bit more challenging: his left hand trembled, his right unable to do anything except hold the base of the handle. The YouTuber's emotions were running high, his temples were throbbing rapidly along with the loud pounding in his chest, a big lump forming in his throat. 

"Damien, please..." Mark sniffed, "Please don't make me do this. It's all over now, let's just go home." 

"It's not over unless I say it's over! And I don't care if I need to kill my way through it!" 

Mark saw Dark's grip on the metal tighten, the spark in the man's eyes showing the brutal intention he had.

"Damien, stop!" 

In his perspective, time slowed down. He held his breath and went for Dark's bloody hand, praying that his impaired aim could still do it. It was all or nothing. 

Mark pulled the trigger and the weapon flew from the Damien's grasp. A spray of blood exploded from the bullet's exit wound. Dark screamed. Seán broke free and he dived to the floor. And with Seán out of the way, Mark had a clear shot of Damien. A tear slipped out of his swollen eye as images of their childhood together flashed in his head.

He closed his eyes finally taking the shot. 

He fired three shots at Dark, hitting him squarely in the chest. The red haired man fell back with a shriek, a shriek of agony and suffering, only to be stifled by the loud thud on the floor. His childhood friend lay dead on the ground unmoving, eyes wide open staring at the endless space outside. 

Mark slowly lowered his gun, barrel still smoking as he stared down at his enemy's shell, the agent's chest heaving from the growing sorrow in him. He realized that he was irredeemable, nothing could change his perception of the world. 

Seán was on the floor, shaken by the encounter, the sounds around him muffled as he struggled to collect himself. He was catching his breath, his arms and knees were trembling out of terror.

"SEÁN, C'MON!" He finally heard Mark.

The Irishman looked up, Mark was frantically gesturing him to start moving. He scrambled to his feet and ran to his friend.

"Let's go!" The agent exclaimed, leading them to the door.

It suddenly slid shut.

Mark and Seán gasped, they turned around and saw Dark back on his feet very much alive, one hand on the door controls. Without saying a word, the man pressed another button. 

That was when Mark spotted a bulletproof vest under Dark's suit.

"You think I'm going down that easy, Mark?" Damien said as the blaring of sirens emanated in the air and flashing emergency lights illuminated the place. 

Just behind Dark was the large glass window overlooking the earth, and they had begun to move closer to it. The center of gravity shifted and the entire station was preparing to nose dive back to earth.

   Damien smiled at the two, the grin on his face conveying evil and desperation,

    "BUT IF I'M GOING DOWN, YOU'RE GOING DOWN WITH ME!"


	28. Die Another Day

   Tyler and Ethan were suddenly thrown off balance in their ship when the entire spacestation dipped its front. This sudden shift in gravity made a loud deafening sound of grinding metal as the collapsible bridge that linked their ship to the station twisted violently around the middle, leaving nothing but crumpled metal and debris and permanently sealing them out. 

   "MARK?!" Tyler pulled himself up and seeing the damages, "What's going on?!"

   "Dark's gonna crash the station..." Mark replied over the radio, maintaining calmness in his voice, "Can you override the system?"

   Ethan rushed over to the cockpit and looked at the computer, he started typing away, "Shit! Dark has already locked the autopilot... I can't hack through the pilot controls anymore."

  Another tilt was made by the larger craft that further disfigured the bridge. Tyler looked outside and saw the entirety of the space station moving toward the blue planet in front of them.

_________

   Mark and Seán were holding on a beam as the front bowed its head and the station drew closer to the earth.

   "Hold on!" Mark shrieked.

   But Dark suddenly lunged at the agent, making the latter lose his grip and sending both of them to tumble down to the front of the command center. The scuffle had Mark losing grip of his gun. 

   Weakened by the bruises and wounds covering his body, Mark struggled to get to his feet as he faced Damien, who was also heavily bruised and clutching his bleeding hand.

"You said you wanna go home, right?" Dark taunted, "The only thing is that we'll be ashes by the time we reach the ground."

   "Damien, violence isn't the answer." Mark said, catching his breath, "Stand down... please."

   "As long as I'm still standing, I'll keep on fighting." Damien tucked his injured right hand in his coat pocket leaving only his left.

  With his remaining ounce of strength, Damien ran at Mark, making the first swing. Mark ducked down to avoid it, also putting his right hand in his pocket to prevent his shoulder injury from worsening. They were both fighting with their good left hand.

   Mark managed to land a punch at Dark's gut,  knocking the air out of him. However, the latter responded by kneeing the YouTuber in the chest. It was evident that both were growing more and more exhausted, Mark's arm felt like jelly and so did Dark's.

   But neither wanted to back down. And they were evenly matched.

   More punches and jabs were thrown, along with yelps and shrieks of pain. 

With the entire station now tilted at an alarming angle of forty-five degrees, everything that was not bolted to the floor slid down like they were children's toys, from small chairs to large cabinets, falling to where Mark and Dark were. Who were now standing on top of the cabinets instead of the floor.

   Seán dropped himself from the beam and landed on top of the railing of the balcony, eyes on the two who were squaring off down below at the very front of the bridge. 

   That was when he saw the giant bubble inflated from the small Tiny Box Tim figure perched on the railing with him, that a little nudge over the edge would send it falling down. 

   Damien had gained the upper hand by throwing a strong punch at Mark's face then kicking him down to the ground.

   The Irishman frantically looked around, noticing that the front was the shape of a half circle, and all the loose objects were gathering at the lowest point where the two were. And with no time to spare, Seán crawled on the metal bars, carefully watching his footing as he made his way to the giant ball. Upon reaching it, he turned around and pushed it with his feet, his arms wrapped around the railing as leverage.

   Mark groggily pulled himself away from Dark, too exhausted to get up, unsure if he could take any more beating.

   "Here we go again, huh, Mark?" Damien began, "You on the ground with me about to kill you."

   As Mark was looking up at Dark, he saw Seán above them trying to push the bubble off the balcony. He knew what was his friend's intention.

   "You never learn, do you?" Mark retorted, seeing that Seán had finally dislodged the sphere. 

   "Excuse me?" 

   "You never learn how to shut your trap." 

   Everything slowed down, from the thud of the giant ball behind Dark, to Mark's attempt in rolling off the platform to a lower spot to avoid the path. Damien on the other hand, as cartoonish as it happened, was run over by the TBT Bubble. 

   Mark pulled himself back up the platform and recovered his gun, aiming it at Damien who rolled over and onto his back, hissing in pain as he did so.

   "Enough is enough, Dark. Stand the fuck down." The agent clicked his gun, stepping closer. 

"Go on, just kill me." Dark laid there on the floor, looking stoic even in defeat.

   Mark bit his lip, his breathing hitched. 

   "Put me out of my misery, Mark." Damien coaxed, "This is the part where the good guy kills the bag guy, right?"

   The agent narrowed his eyes.

   "Come on, do it!" 

Mark lowered his gun, "No, not in every story, particularly in my story. You get to live to die another day."

He instead pistol whipped Damien in the face, knocking him out cold. 

Mark stood triumphant, wiping his bloody lip with his arm, hand still holding the pink mustache gun as he looked down at his unconscious foe.

"What ever happened to us, Damien?" He muttered under his breath. 

They were interrupted by a voice over the intercom. It was the station's onboard computer.

"Time until earth reentry: T-minus five minutes." 

"Ethan? Are you there?" Mark radioed in, still feeling the adrenaline rushing within him, "We got him... we got Darkiplier." 

Seán dropped down over to Mark holding a roll of duct tape. The men taped Damien's hand together as well as his feet, they also taped the man's mouth shut. 

   "Mark!" Ethan replied, "The bridge is totaled, we're sealed out!"

"You mean we can't pass through it?" Mark asked, his heart dropping.

"Yes." 

"Then Jack and I are gonna have to find another way off this thing. You're gonna have to detach from the station." 

   "Are you crazy?!" Tyler raised his voice.

   "You need to break off now," Mark said, "...or risk tearing your ship apart."

   "And leave you two behind?!" Tyler retorted, "We can't just leave you! Not again!"

   "As much as I hate to admit it, but Mark's right, Ty." Ethan interjected, "Once the nose of the station enters the earth's atmosphere the gravity will pull them down and will tear us up like tin foil."

  "Are there any other smaller ships docked here, Crank?" Mark replied.

  "Yes. I found a couple of orbiters still docked near the back." Ethan announced, "I'll get it ready and set its course back to Brighton." 

   "Great. Thanks." Mark said.

   "I'll see you later, bud." Tyler sighed, "Unlinking from the station now."

   "I hope so, Tyler." Mark bid, "Is there an obligatory self destruct button in here?"

   "No." Ethan said, "But I can rig the death ray and to blow using the energy it harnessed from the MacGuffin." 

   "That'll work." Mark said as he deflated the Tiny Box Tim bubble, the entire thing folding back into the small cartoon figure. "Start the countdown now." he added, staring at the screen that counted down the time before the station makes contact with the outermost layer of the atmosphere. 

   "Alright, you have three minutes before the ray self-destructs." 

   "I think that'll be enough." Mark was stifled when he faced the steep inclined floor, he looked up and saw that the only way out of the bridge was now on the ceiling, "Oh... shit." 

    It was near impossible to climb up. 

   "Ethan? I have one more request." Mark said, a crazy idea had popped in his head, "Deactivate the gravity. We're floating out way out."

_________   

Mark and Seán floated their way to the docked ships with Darkiplier in tow still unconscious. 

   "Forty-five seconds left, Mark." Ethan warned.

   "We're here." Mark navigated the hallway, his heart racing, "which one?" 

   "The one on your left. The NOTA-PE-NIS 4000." 

   "Bingo!" Mark pulled the hatch open and swam through the narrow vent that linked the station and the orbiter. 

   "Hurry up, Mark. You've got thirty seconds." Ethan said nervously.

   The two emerged in the cockpit, Mark taking the pilots chair on the left, and Seán taking the co-pilot's. The two strapped themselves down and Mark pressed a series of buttons that warmed up the engine. 

   "Hands on the wheel, Jack." Mark said, gripping the ones on front of him. "Undocking now." 

   The mechanism holding the spacecraft began moving, lowering them down the opening of the station that was on the underside.

   "Ten seconds." 

   Mark swallowed the lump on his throat, reaching out for the switch that will release them from the mechanism.

   "Five..."

The ship was free.

"Four..."

Mark and Seán pushed the throttle levers forward, hearts racing faster than they could imagine.

"Three..."

The rockets shot out fire along with the engines that propelled them forward. 

"Two..."

They looked up at the underside of the station as they sped away from it.

"One..."

Mark took one last glance at the station as a bright flash of light engulfed it, the sound the explosion nonexistent in the emptiness of outer space. The blast had pieces of debris flying in all directions, some even heading back to earth with them as they fast approached the atmosphere.

"MARK!" Seán yelled, "Our right engine's hit!"

Mark looked at the dashboard: the analog altimeter's reading was rapidly going down from 6200 miles like the reels on a slot machine, and the ship's status indicator displayed nothing but a fire warning on the ship's engine.

   The second they had made their reentry, the entire cabin banked precariously to the right. And the roar of the damaged engine filled their ears, it was like the sound of a dying animal that terrified them. As they continued to descend, the ship was engulfed by a burning ball of plasma caused by the friction of the air and the ship itself. The view outside their windows was both stunning and terrifying: as streaks of yellow light danced around them, but along them were the broken pieces that also made a reentry in the atmosphere, slowly being reduced into balls of flaming debris that rained down on earth as if they were a plague sent by the heavens.

"TYLER!" Mark shrieked, "WE'RE HIT! ONE OF OUR ENGINES IS GONE!" 

"NO-!" Mark heard Tyler's worried voice amidst the chaos, "M-" 

It was abruptly cut off.

With fear and stress rising back up his throat, Mark grasped tightly on the control wheel and steered to the left in an attempt to level the ship as they spiraled out of control. Seán did the same in sync with Mark's action, but it did nothing. They only felt turbulence, the entire cabin violently shaking as if they were going to be torn apart.

"I dunno how to do this, I dunno how to do this," Mark said nervously, "I think I know, but I don't really know..." 

"Where are we gonna go?!" Seán panicked.

"I don't know!" He replied, still pulling on the lever to the left, "We're flubbernucked anyway!"

The YouTuber took a deep breath, clearing his mind from the anxiety that was building up within him, eventually hatching up a strategy.

"THE ENGINES!" Mark blurted out, "Turn off the engines!" 

   Mark and Seán grabbed on the throttle lever and pulled it back, all while the former flipped a switch that shut off their only good engine. The agent prayed it would work, and to their luck, it did, the entire shuttle leveled itself - they were now gliding in the air. 

   "COME ON!" Mark yelled, steering to the right with Seán, "SO FLY LIKE A BUTTERFLY!"

They navigated through the falling pieces of metal. 

"Like a butterFLY!" Mark yelped as they avoided a bigger chunk, "I won't keel over and die!"

A series of flips, turns, and banks were made as they went perpendicular to the direction of the debris, miraculously making it in one piece and were heading back to Brighton. However, they were still nosediving.

Mark glanced at the altimeter that was still going crazy, "Shit... what am I missing?!" 

   "Mark! The flaps!" Seán said, somehow knowledgeable with planes from all the flight games he had played through.

The Korean reached for the switch and flicked it. Outside, the flaps of the spacecraft unfolded. 

"PULL UP!" Mark commanded. 

Both men pulled on the control wheel. Finally, with what seemed like ages, they managed to regain some semblance of control. The front lifted up, the underside was now facing the earth, the red hot plasma tail slowly dissipated, and the altimeter began counting down slower, now at 150 miles. 

"THANK GOD!" Mark yelped, sighing.

"FUCKIN' HELL!" Seán added.

But they were interrupted when their right engine exploded.

"Oh shit, I forgot about that one." The agent's eyes widened, realizing that their ordeal was far, far from over. He glanced at a small screen that showed the rate of their descent, he knew that the plan of landing in one piece was not possible. 

   That fear heightened when they saw that they were approaching Brighton on the computer screen. They were less than ten minutes from impact.

   Mark shook his head, "W-we can't land this thing. We can glide but we can't land... not at this speed."

Mark racked his brain for a plan, cold sweat dripping down his face as he watched the meter continue to go down. He reached for his watch and pressed a button, activating a counter similar to the onboard altimeter.

"We're gonna have to divert its course into the sea before we jump out." 

"What?! Jump out? Are you fucking serious?!" Seán blurted out, "This ship has no parachute!" 

"I didn't say anything about parachutes." Mark raised the Tiny Box Tim between them. "This thing can withstand a fall of two thousand feet." 

"That thing?!" his friend sounded more uneasy.

"Sometimes you gotta make a leap of faith." Mark sighed, knowing that it was their last option of survival as he steered the ship away from Brighton and set its course to the sea. "Let's move now!"

He yanked his friend off his seat and dragged him to the the cargo hold of the orbiter where they strapped down a now-awake Darkiplier whose eyes followed their every move. Mark removed Damien from his seat and had Seán tie a belt around their waist leaving them tied back to back.

"A-are you sure about this?" The pale man said. 

   "You got any better ideas, Jack?" Mark checked his watch, which was now at 30 miles, "But based on how much distance we have left before we smash into the water, there's no other option." 

   The Irishman's breathing became raspy, he felt his chest tighten, and the overwhelming sensation of dread overcame him as Mark pulled him to the left side door away from the burning engine.

   With the ground closing in, Mark pushed open the hatch that came with a loud hiss. The hatch was immediately torn away by the strong wind. 

   The agent felt his chest pounding as he looked outside and saw nothing but water. He gulped, extending out a hand for Seán.

   "Take my hand, Jack." Mark said, "As gay as it sounds, just take it." 

   He felt Seán's hand sweaty and cold. 

   "M-Mark... there's something I should've told you..." Seán murmured but it was mostly muffled by the noise outside. 

   But before he could even say it, Mark leapt out taking the green-haired man with him.

   "...I'M AFRAID OF HEIGHTS!" Seán basically screamed his lungs out, "FUUUUUUUCK MEEEEE!"

   Mark tightly grasped his friend's hand, while also making sure Damien was still tied to his back. All three men were screaming, voices higher than their usual range, even Dark was screaming, who had his yells muffled by the tape.

   "I'M GONNA DIEEEEE!" Seán screamed, his throat aching from all the yelling, arms and legs violently flailing in the air. 

Wind rushed against their faces, they could barely hear anything except the loud cry of the spacecraft crashed into the sea. The blue skies blurred, Mark was staring at at the land mass that was the Brighton pier grow bigger each passing second.

Seán felt lightheaded, the strong gusts of wind blowing into his torso knocking the air out of him. Plus looking down at the large body of water had him hyperventilating. 

   "M-M-Mark..." He tugged on Mark's hand. 

The agent turned his head at his friend who was paler than pale, his eyes bloodshot and crossed. Mark knew what was about to happen to him.

"SEÁN, STAY WITH ME!" Mark bellowed.

But the Irishman gave in and blacked out.

   "Oh great." The YouTuber pulled Seán close and wrapped his arms around his chest, ending up being sandwiched between Damien and Seán. "Must I do everything?" 

He took out the Tiny Box Tim figure and checked his watch again, the miles had turned into feet, nearing the 2000 feet mark. 

   And as soon as it did, Mark pushed the button on the remote. In a matter of seconds they were encased inside the protective sphere, the space inside enough to contain all three of them. 

   All Mark could do was hope for the best.


	29. ALIENS JIM! ALIENS!!

A van pulled over by the sidewalk leading to the beach where a supposed unidentified flying object was reported to have landed moments ago.

   "Live from Brighton pier, This is Jim News. My name is Jim," Jim walked mid-squat, almost resembling a crab as the cameraman followed him in a similar fashion, stepping onto sandy beach, "Jim received news from Jim HQ that a space pod had crash landed on the shoreline." 

   As they moved closer to the place where people on the beach were gathering, the news reporter continued to walk like that.

   Jim walked leaned closer to the camera, "We must be very Jim, Jim. We don't know what kind of Jim is in that pod." He paused, "What if it's a hostile alien, Jim? An alien with a pewee instead of a shooty?" 

   The solo crewman did not respond, mute as always.

   "Excuse me, Jim and Jim coming through with Jim News!" Still, Jim walked like a crab, microphone pressed to his lip.

   They stopped when the rubbery pod slowly deflated and a figure emerged from behind it.

   "Is that Markiplier?" A teenage girl said, pointing to the man. "And Jacksepticeye?!"

   "DARKIPLIER TOO?!" Another teen said, "OH MY GOD!"

     People with smartphones started recording, all pointed at the three men.

   The reporter glanced at the camera that was pointed at the unfolding scene. "Jim, the alien people referred to as Markiplier has four legs, four arms, and two heads." 

  The crowd just stared at Jim with their eyebrows raised.

   Jim went closer, as did the cameraman, "Oh no, Jim! It appears to be carrying a green haired human specimen in its arms! They must have probed the poor man's anal cavity!"

   The reporter gasped upon seeing Mark and Dark's facial features, "Egad! They have evolved into a less attractive version of us, Jim! And soon they will take over the earth!" 

   "Will someone help me?" Mark said in a low voice, struggling to prevent the unconscious Seán from falling off his arms.

   "Oh my God!" Jim dropped to his belly on the sand, pushing his head up with his arms, "The alien has fully adapted to our language!"

   "What are you talking about, Jim?" Mark asked, now looking down on the news anchor. 

   "IT KNOWS MY NAME JIM! IT CAN READ MINDS!" Jim screamed, flopping on the sand like a seal and leaving a trail behind him, "ALIENS JIM! ALIENS!! RUUUUUN!"

   The news crew fled the scene leaving a confused Mark and a handful of beach goers standing there. 

   He walked a few more steps, his path resembling that of a drunken man, "A little help please?" 

   A number of people came to their aid, taking Seán from Mark's arms finally relieving him some of the weight bearing down on him.

   "Thank you." He sighed as his knees buckled, falling on the sandy shore.

   "Stand aside! Doctor coming through!" Mark heard a familiar voice approaching.

   Dr. Iplier parted the crowd and stood in front of him, reaching for his stethoscope and putting it on Mark's head.

   "I'm sorry," Dr. Iplier bowed his head, glancing at his clipboard, "...but you're dying." 

   "No he's not. What is death, anyway?" Someone else said as their hand pushed the doctor to the side. 

Mark was now face to face with a splitting image of himself with the exception of the person having a distinct pink mustache.

   "William," Mark's head was now swimming, his vision started to dim, "B-boy, am I glad to see you." 

   "Good to see you too, old chap." Wilford smiled, patting his head.

   Through Mark's fuzzy eyesight he saw Bob and Wade appear behind Wilford.

   "H-hey guys!" He said, voice cracking.

   "You did it, you caught Damien." The colonel blew on his mustache, looking past Mark and seeing the back of Damien's vibrant red hair behind Mark.

   "I-I to-told you I can do it." Mark's eyes were half shut now, his chest heaving, "Now if you'll excuse me I need to..."

"Need to what?" Wilford asked, "Pass out?"

"Yeah." Mark nodded, "I'm passing out now."

   At that instant, Mark lost all motor controls as his arms dropped to his sides before falling backwards.

   Everything went black.

__________

   Mark awoke to the sound of beeping, he opened his eyes letting the light slowly creep in and allowing his vision to clear up. He was staring at a ceiling of a room, and he knew it was a hospital room based on the familiar sound of the heart rate monitor to the left side of his bed.

   As soon as he regained some of his senses, he felt a warm hand holding his. He lifted his head up and saw a blonde-haired woman asleep and slumped on the side of his bed.

   "A-Amy?" Mark croaked through his sore throat.

   She lifted her head up, making out a moan as she awoke from her slumber. They met eye to eye, Mark's heart fluttered and Amy grinned.

   "You're finally awake, babe." She said, moving closer to kiss him.

   Mark gladly accepted the kiss, feeling fuzzy inside when their lips touched.

   "Wh-what happened?" He rubbed his aching head, still feeling woozy from what he could guess was from the medicines the doctors must have administered.

   "Tyler said he found you unconscious on the floor back at our house." 

   "He-WHAT?!" He gasped, still trying to regain control of his body.

   "Easy, Mark." She grabbed his hand, "He said you hit your head against something." 

   "Wh-where's Darkiplier?" 

   "Darkiplier?"

   "Yeah... we caught him." Mark shook his head.

   "Okay," She raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?" 

   "Tyler, Ethan, and I caught him in his space station." Mark said, his heart racing.

   "Space station?" Amy tilted his head, her lips now curved to a frown, "You went to space?" 

   "Yeah!" Mark's jaw trembled, his thoughts pushing back the worst, "You were there and we rode on a ship to get to outer space." 

   "Honey, you've been out for three days."

   "Wh-what?" He said, tears beginning to stream down his face, "D-Did... w-was it just a dream? A f-fever dream?"

   She shrugged.

   "Oh God..."

   Just as Mark was about to break down in tears, Amy let go of his hand and walked to the door.

   "Alright, I can't take any more of this," She sighed, pulling open the door and revealing three men standing there, two still in their white jumpsuits while the third one in an all black casual attire.

   "GOTCHA!" Tyler yelled before bursting into laughter.

   Mark sat up, snatched his pillow, and hurled it at Tyler in a fit of rage, "YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" 

   "I fucking got you like I always do!" He stepped inside the room, allowing Mark to clearly see that he had bandages on his hands and some band-aids on his face that had some bruises.

   Ethan followed, also recovering from the injuries he had sustained. Seán came in lastly, rounding up the group.

   "I hate you and everything you ever stand for!" A wave of relief washed over him, the weight in his chest finally gone, "Jesus, and to think I was gonna fall for that 'it was all a dream' trope!"

"But that would be a shitty way to end it, right?" Tyler said, "All that buildup for nothing."

"I know." The agent said, "Thank God the author's not a sick bastard, he's just a fucking troll." 

   "Good to see you alive and well, buddy." Tyler smiled, pulling Mark for a hug. 

That was when Mark felt the bruises and woulds all over his body sting, especially his shoulder wound, it was also the time he realized that his entire right arm was in an arm sling.

"OW! Watch it! I'm still sore!" He pushed his friend off of him. Mark huffed, folding his arms over his chest, wincing at his injuries, "I'm gonna get you for that, dipshit. Just you wait."

   "But seriously, you were out for three days." The tall man said.

   "What would you expect from a man who went into intensive training for three weeks, leapt from building to building, got sent to outer space, and then crash landed to earth?" Mark slumped down on his bed and rubbed his head, "Man, my body feels like pudding."

   "But you did it, Bumbum." Tyler said, sitting on a chair beside Mark, "You finally caught Darkiplier."

   "What a way to start your career as a superspy." Ethan remarked, "You outdid yourself up there. K is impressed."

   "Nah, it's not just me. It's a collective effort." Mark pushed himself up, scooting over to the side of his bed and dangling his legs over the edge, "I couldn't have done it without you guys." 

Ethan and Tyler smiled.

"So let me correct it," Mark chuckled, "We did it." 

"Sounds fair." Ethan said.

"Even Jack over there." Mark said, beaming at the green-haired man who was quietly standing a few feet away from them. 

"Ah, it's nothing, my dude." Seán mumbled, running a hand through his thick neon green hair, "Even though I have no idea what the fuck was going on back there." 

Mark and Seán exchanged glances, both showing a sign of acknowledgement of their efforts.

"Where is he?" Mark asked, suddenly remembering, "Where is Damien?"

   "He has been taken to the maximum security prison on the outskirts of town." Tyler replied, looking at his feet.

"Good." Mark said, but felt his heart sink upon learning the news, looking down at the ground in deep thought.

It was followed by a brief moment of silence. 

"Anyway," Tyler spoke up, "Felix wants to see us for a debriefing once you're all patched up and able."

"Alright." Mark complied.

Ethan turned to Seán who was standing behind them, pointing to the Irishman's belly, "And once the MacGuffin exits this guy's bunglehole."


	30. MARKISPYER (End)

"Well, agents," Felix began, turning away from the window overlooking the Los Angeles skyline, facing the three men sitting on the couch in front of him, all of whom were covered in bandages in various parts of their bodies, "Now that Darkiplier is behind bars we can now rest easy and finally say that this mission's a success."

Felix walked around his table and sat on top of it, still eyes locked on the three men.

"All you three did a great job back there, you work like gears on a machine. That's what I call teamwork." K folded his arms.

"Thank you, K." The men said.

"Bumbum," Felix turned to Mark, to which the agent responded with another frustrated eye roll upon hearing his agent name, "You did such a phenomenal job back there for a rookie. I knew you had it in you." He extended out a hand.

"I did what I had to do, K." Mark said, taking Felix's hand and shaking it, "And I'd be glad to do more of these in the future."

Mark felt proud, proud of what they had accomplished, that they were able to save the lives of billions. But despite of all the praise, deep inside he felt that there was still something he should address. But as of now, he went with the flow.

Felix looked down at the open Tiny Box Tim figure with the MacGuffin in it.

"All those trouble just for a piece of ruby." He reached inside and picked it up.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you." Mark clenched his teeth together in disgust, "You have no idea where that thing came out of."

"What do you mean?" K asked, the ruby in between his index and thumb.

"It came out of Jacksepticeye's butthole." Tyler said, straight to the point.

"JAVLA FAN!" Felix dropped the MacGuffin back on the table then vigorously wiped his hand on his suit.

"Don't worry, it's already been disinfected... I think." Ethan said, taking a pair of pencils from the table and using them as chopsticks to pick up the ruby to put it back in the TBT figure.

"Okay," Felix took the box.

"Will you now promise me that you'll take care of it?" Mark spoke, "That thing's nothing but trouble."

"You have my word."

"Okay." Mark nodded and looked down.

"Well then, because of your success, I'm letting you guys take a break."

This came as a surprise to the agents.

"You guys deserve it, it's been one hell of a week for you three. Saving the world is not an easy feat."

The men exchange glances, each giving a cheerful smirk.

"What are you waiting for?" Felix gestured them away, "Go on and enjoy your break while it lasts!"

The three stood up from the couch and went for the door, Mark being the last one to exit. But before the agent could shut the door behind him, he stopped halfway and peeked back inside.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Mark said, meeting Felix's gaze, "I have to tell you something about Jack."

"What is it?"

"You might wanna consider bringing him in for training." Mark shrugged, "He showed a lot of potential up there."

Felix gave him a reassuring nod, "I'll look into it."

"Awesome."

_________

The three men were driving back to Mark's house, Tyler being the one behind the wheel, Ethan in the passenger seat, and Mark having the backseat all to himself.

Mark was sprawled in the second row, his body feeling the leather seat that cushioned his heavy built. He stared outside the window, watching the lights along Sunset Boulevard flicker on as the sun outside has started to set. It somehow gave him a comforting feeling, as if it had been the first time in years he had relaxed.

"Ethan." Tyler spoke, "Would you mind telling me what's up with that box you're holding?"

Ethan's eyes widened, raising up the medium-sized box, "Oh, this one?"

"What else am I pertaining to?"

"I found him in rolling our ship's cabin." Ethan reached for the lid as Mark leaned closer.

"'Him'?" Mark and Tyler exchanged looks through the rear view mirror.

When the blue haired man opened it, a pair of eyes were staring back at them.

"Hello." A deep, sultry voice greeted, making them scream and retreat, "My primary objective is to answer questions as quickly as possible... Secondary objective is to destroy mankind."

"Is that...?" Mark leaned back in.

"That's Red Google, it's the only part I was able to salvage after frying the circuits of the other three." Ethan said proudly.

"Alright, would you mind telling me why do you still have that with you?" Tyler rubbed his temples in confusion.

"I told you, I'm gonna use the head for research purposes. Not that I'm a loner who can't get a girlfriend and will most likely use it for my sexual endeavors." Ethan gasped at the last part, his eyes now bigger than usual, "I-if that's what you're thinking."

"I-I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that." Mark backed out, shaking his head, "I need ear bleach."

After another half an hour drive, the buildings had been replaced by smaller, suburban houses as they ascended up the sloped streets of Los Angeles. Mark relished in the anticipation of diving into his bed and sleeping like a rock for hours on end.

"We're finally here." Tyler said, driving up to Mark's house.

"Didn't realize I'd miss this place even though I was just gone for a while." Mark smiled.

The second Mark pushed the door open, a golden retriever leapt for him, her paws landing on his chest nearly knocking him off balance.

"CHICA!" Mark squealed, crouching down to ruffle his dog's golden yellow fur, "I missed you, Cheeka Beeka!" He said, his tone overflowing with joy.

The dog's tail wagged playfully, her tongue licking Mark's hand over and over, her body shaking in excitement.

"I love you too!" He said.

The dog dropped back to the floor, still energetic, paws clattering on the tiled floor as she led Mark to the living room.

"Okay, buddy-boo. Where's-" He stopped when he caught sight of his living room.

The room was back in its pristine condition. The glass doors were no longer shattered, the couches were back to their original place facing the gigantic unbroken flatscreen television hanging over the fireplace where the framed pictures of him and his friends were resting on top of.

"Whoa, but...?" Mark stuttered, "Didn't this get blown up-?"

"Compliments of Felix Kjellberg." Tyler nudged him, "He had this repaired while you were recovering."

Mark made a soft chuckle.

"There he is!" Amy's voice came from the kitchen behind Mark. "Welcome home, Mark."

She planted a kiss on Mark's cheek and wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

"Thanks, babe." He chuckled, "It feels good to be home."

"Hey, if you don't mind, Ethan and I better get going." Tyler said, "It's getting a little late and we should all get a good night's rest."

"Absolutely." The YouTuber said.

Hand in hand, Mark and Amy escorted Tyler and Ethan out the door, stopping on the porch watching the two make their way to their car.

"Tyler! Ethan!" Mark called out.

"Yeah?" Tyler turned around, having stopped halfway to their car.

"Thanks."

Ethan and Tyler flashed him a smile.

"No, Mark." The taller man said, "Thank you."

"But I'm still gonna have my revenge, Ty."

"Haha, try me, bitch!"

Mark chuckled, waving at them "Alright. I'll be seeing you guys' ugly faces tomorrow."

The two entered their car and gave one more honk before backing out of the driveway and diving off into the night.

"Well, this was one hell of a wild ride." Mark looked at Amy who had her arm wrapped around his waist.

"It sure was." She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Excuse me." Mark reached into his pocket and took out a remote as small as a credit card.

"What's that?" Amy raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, just the remote to the fart bomb I planted under Tyler's seat." Mark had a wicked grin, "He'll be smelling like a skunk for weeks."

He pressed the button, seeing the small LED light on it turn from red to green.

"Now, we wait for tomorrow." Mark ushered his girl back in the house, locking the door behind them and finally getting the sleep he ever so deserved.

___________

The next day came. Mark as always woke up late at around almost noon and was now back to his daily schedule of recording his videos. However, this particular video was unplanned. Mark had to adjust his recording of Let's Play videos and skits to make way for this one. This lingering thought had been bugging him all night.

He fixed his hair a bit, did some last minute checks on the audio and video equipment before finally sitting on his same old comfy chair. He took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves as he faced the camera, hitting the record button in the process.

"Hey guys!" Mark waved at the camera with his left hand as his right was bound to an arm sling, "I am back! Your favorite egotistical goof is back after being snowbound back in N.Y." He lied, but congratulating himself for immediately coming up with such a ruse.

He glanced at his monitor that displayed the recording and saw the bruises on his face.

"Now... uh, before you people go crazy over these bruises I'll let you know that it's just makeup, Amy did it for a special Valentine's video we're currently shooting." He poked the one on his cheek, "It's fake."

He bit the inside of his cheek as he screamed in his head.

"I just wanna tell you guys that the past three weeks had been so damn wild, my 2017 is off to a crazy start." He smiled, "And in those three weeks I had an epiphany."

He paused.

"What kind epiphany you might ask? That it's a very, very dangerous world out there, war here, violence over there. It's scary, I know."

He brushed his long black hair to the side and momentarily looked away from the lens.

"You guys know me as a person who wants to make our little blue planet a better place, right? As a matter of fact, all of us want a brighter and peaceful future.

And how do we do that? We start with ourselves. We change for the better. And that little spark of change could ignite the fire that will bring us a step closer to achieving our end goal: a better world."

He felt as if a heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders.

"Anything's possible if you believe in it, and through the experiences I had the past couple of weeks showed me that, you should not only believe in yourself that you could change, but you should also believe in others that they could change. I know it's gonna be a long journey, but trust me, it'll all be worth it in the end."

Mark flashed them a smile.

"Anyway, that's all I wanna say. Forgive me if this was a short video, this is just an update on the current status of me, the channel, and the upcoming projects. I'm fine now, just had to let some of my concerns out." Mark bit his lip, pausing for a few seconds, "So thank you, everybody. And as always, I will see you..." he lifted up his functioning hand and pointed at the camera, "...in the next video, buh-bye!"

Mark ended the recording and laid back on his chair, reminiscing about the events that had happened the past few days. He took another deep breath and sighed because deep inside he knew in a way...

Damien was right.

He was snapped from his daydream-like state by a knock on his door.

"Mark?" Amy said, her voice slightly muffled by the soundproofed walls, "You in there, baby?"

"Yeah, just finished recording."

"You've got mail. It's from YouTube."

Mark sat upright as stiff as a twig. "Please don't tell me it's another Tiny Box Tim figure."

The YouTuber lazily stood up from his chair and went to answer the door, ready to accept whether it would be another mission or just a token of gratitude from the secret service.

_________

There you have it, dear readers, this has been a story of, well, a YouTuber turned spy. His journey, along with his friends, showed that anything is possible if you believe in yourself, and that drive could potentially change the world.

With those said, my name's The Host, and this has been 'The Adventures of Agent Bumbum.'

"HEY!" A loud bang came from The Host's door, and not long the door was kicked open by a man in a suit. The man lowered his pink mustache gun and glared at the narrator.

"What? Anything wrong with my storytelling?" The Host had his head turned at the agent despite his eyes being blindfolded.

"Actually, no." Mark said, "But you got the title wrong, I had my name changed."

"What's the title then?"

Mark's lips slowly curved into a smile.

"It's MarkiSPYer."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it! That's the end of Mark's journey of becoming a spy! I hope you guys have enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it, and might I say, this book has been in the works since 2016, it's only now that I've managed to actually write it down. haha
> 
> And, if it's not too much to ask, would you mind sharing this story to other Markimoo fans out there? Surely they might enjoy this as well. :)


	31. MarkiSPYer: Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you’re reading this now, I’d like to say CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve survived along with Mark with all the shenanigans he went through. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, though, because I’m developing a sequel to this book. 
> 
> BUT! And that’s a big butt. There’s a little twist.
> 
> Mark will take a backseat in the sequel, because our Irish Potato is taking the lead. The sequel will be called,
> 
> JacksepticSPY.
> 
> Read below for the synopsis of JacksepticSPY.

Seán McLoughlin has finally adapted to the life of espionage months after being recruited by Y. A. S. S.. He was rising through the ranks until one incident changed it all causing his career to make a hard left and go on a downward spiral as people begin to question his capabilities of being a spy - including himself.

Sometimes threats hit closer to home than one might expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you’ll stick around for this sequel!


	32. TEASER: JacksepticSPY - Coming JUNE 21st!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the synopsis for this book's standalone sequel: JacksepticSPY!

Seán McLoughlin has finally adapted to the life of espionage months after being recruited by Y. A. S. S.. He was rising through the ranks until on̕e incident changed it all, causing his career to make a hard left and go on a downward spiral as people begin to question his capabilities of being a spy - includ͡in̴g͢ ̀h͘i͏m͢s̸ȩl̨f̀.

So̡mȩtim̢e͏s ͠thr͟e̷a̢t͟s͜ hit̀ c͜lo̢s̢er̡ ͏t̕o ͢home t̵h͠an one m̨igh̵t̸ ex̵p̧e͝ct͠.

_________

You can also check out the trailer for JacksepticSPY!

https://youtu.be/7Ixks__vqLo


	33. JackepticSPY is OUT NOW!

The long-awaited sequel to this book, JacksepticSPY, is now online! GO CHECK IT OUT NOW!


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